


Meet the Parents

by huxduxtuxlux



Series: Meet The... [1]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Anxious Hux, Awkward parties, Ben Solo - Freeform, Crack, Drama Queen Luke, Established Relationship, Favoritism, Fluff, Future talk, GAD, I cant even believe how out of character everyone is, Light Smut, M/M, Multi, Not very canon, Oops, Parental Disapproval, Poor Hux, Power Bottom Hux, Showers, Sibling Rivalry, Soft Kylux, Soft sex, Suicide mentions, Tender Sex, Walmart, a house stuck in the 70s, a suitcase full of sex things, airplane jail, awkward but sexy hux, ballet Hux, ben the meditator, ben works with underprivileged kids, bloody noses, burlesque hux, chewie got lost, crotchless panties, dance mom hux, dumbdadz, except han, florist means CIA agent, gentle ben, goth teen ben, han and leia need to chill, han is pissed, han is pretty in character imo, how is kenobi not dead yet, hux and ben are so in love, hux in a speedo, hux in lace, hux is an ethereal goddess in the body of an awkward irishman, hux loves kate bush, im trying here people, important voicemails, interrogations, irish hux, julia hux, leia is stone cold, leia's still rude, long distance phone calls, long haired hux, luke and leia are feuding, major disapproval, major secrets, maybe poe is cannon too, med school dropout ben, meet the parents, muskrat, naked pizza party, npp, old ass family members, out of character sweetness, pink hux, polygraph tests, rey is adorable, secrets and lies, shaggy haired hux, smut to come?, snakes in cages, soft smut, striptease, suuuper soft kylux, teaching them martial arts, this is so out of character sweet and tender, this is the softest kylux, treehouse masters, tw smoking, yay for the holiday inn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-28
Updated: 2016-07-27
Packaged: 2018-07-18 22:05:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 24,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7332400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/huxduxtuxlux/pseuds/huxduxtuxlux
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Meeting your partner's parents is always awkward, but Hux didn't think it could be THIS bad.</p><p>Meet the Parents AU, Chewbacca is Jinxy Cat, this is fluff and smut but mostly crack.  Inspired by the classic film.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>General Kylux/Sorta companion-y playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxk1beKYMAjOZU9_AfYEjve8quXHk-RCd</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Virginia

“What does your mom do again?”  Hux asked as he plopped down into his scratchy seat.  He expected something a little nicer and a little newer for a transatlantic flight, but Ben’s parents were paying, so he couldn’t really complain.

“She’s retired now, but she was a florist.”  Ben answered with a mouth full of Slim Jim.  He had already folded his long legs under him and was leaning against the window, staring at dirty tarmac.  “But she doesn’t really like to talk about it.”

Hux scrunched his nose. “And your father was an airplane mechanic?”

“Right.  But he doesn’t like to talk about it, either.”

“Is it going to be a silent week at the Organa-Solo home?”

Ben snorted.  “I wish.”

  
  
  


Hux hadn’t been anywhere in the U.S. besides New York City, and the suburb of Alder, Virginia didn’t exactly make him long to see more of it.  A bar, a grocery store, a Wal-Mart, a Taco Bell, pre-fab houses, pinwheels, red mailboxes, Subaru Outbacks, another Wal-Mart...no wonder Ben moved away as soon as he could.

“Should we stop at Wal-Mart?  Grab you some clothes at rollback prices?”  Ben poked an elbow into Hux’s rib gently.  Hux snarled but nodded.  Goddamn airline had to lose his baggage, didn’t they?

“Alright, let’s drop our stuff at my parents’ first—”

“ _ Your  _ stuff.”  Hux corrected.

“ _ My  _ stuff.  We’ll drop it off, grab a bite to eat, then go shopping, yeah?”

Hux let out a hissing breath.  “I thought I could go my whole life without stepping foot in a Wal-Mart.”

Ben laughed, turning down a street that led to a tangle of cul-de-sacs.  “Yeah, well, welcome to America.”  

  
  


“Stop shaking,” Ben said as he pulled into the three-car garage.  “They’ll love you.”

“I’m not nervous,” Hux stared down at his jumpy hands.  “I’m just cold.”

“It’s 78 degrees out.”

Hux brought his hand to his mouth and chewed at his thumbnail.  “I don’t speak Fahrenheit.”

“Hey.”  Ben reached for Hux’s hand, pulling it slowly away from his mouth and curling their fingers together.  “It’s going to be ok.”

Walking up to the house, Hux noticed that all the flowers in the yard were dead.


	2. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some introductions and missteps.

The house reeked of patchouli and lemongrass.  That was the first thing Hux noticed.  Second was the green shag carpeting that seemed to cover every surface.  

Ben noticed Hux’s disdain and chuckled.  “Yeah, not much remodeling since, like, 1980.”

While Ben ran upstairs to dump his suitcase and find his parents, Hux trailed behind slowly, entranced by the framed photos lining the staircase.  Little Ben in spaceship pajamas by the Christmas tree.  Ben dressed as a Wookie for Halloween.  Ben awkward and gangly in a too-big tux at Prom.  Baby photos showed him nearly as big-eared and wide-eyed as the man at the top of the stairs.  Hux smiled to himself.  Ben had a light in him.

“Mahhhhhhm!  I’m hooooome!”

Right.  Fuck.  Hux straightened his sweater and tried to right his hair.  He should’ve gotten it cut before they came.  Since meeting Ben he had loosened up a bit, he let his hair get shaggy and stopped ironing his jeans.  But in a position like this, meeting such important people...well, he missed the perpetual togetherness of his former self.

“Ben?!”  A female voice answered, but one too youthful to be his mother.  A blur of brown and tan slammed into Ben, knocking him against the olive wallpaper.  

Ah.  Rey.

“I missed you sooooo much how have you been oh my god I have so much to tell you but wait where’s—” her stream of words stopped short when she saw Hux.  “Oh my gaaaawd.  Is this him?!”

Now Rey attacked Hux in a hug, and he almost lost his footing on the third step.  He floated awkward arms six inches from Rey’s torso. 

“Um, hello, you must be Ben’s…?” He still wasn’t sure what exactly Ben and Rey’s relationship was.

“Foster-sister-slash-mentee,” Rey said with confidence, pulling back from Hux.  

She gave him a once over.  Then a twice over.  Hux could feel himself growing red.  “He’s cuter than I thought he would be,” she said as if Hux wasn’t standing right there.

“You didn’t think I would be cute?” Hux asked.

“Well, I mean, Ben’s not the most...I’m just surprised he snagged such a looker is all.”

Ben mimed like he had been stabbed in the chest.

“Where’s Mom and Dad?”

“Costco run.”

Costco!  The only thing worse than Wal-mart was Costco, Hux thought.

“And Finn?”

“At his boyfriend’s.”  Rey said matter-of-factly, bringing her hand to her face and inspecting her hand.

“Um, excuse me?  When did that happen?”

“Few months ago.”  She seemed to be really into something on her hand, what was she concentrating on—?

“Whoa, hold up.”  Ben reached out and snatched her hand.  “What the fuck is this?”  

Oh no.

“Is that a ring?”

Oh no.

“Are you serious, Rey?!”

Seriously?

“Jess proposed!”

Fuck.  While Ben and Rey flailed and celebrated, Hux tried to ignore the pit in his stomach.  As if losing his suitcase (which contained a  _ very _ expensive platinum ring) wasn’t anxiety-inducing enough, now there was no way he could propose on this trip without looking like an asshole.  Shit.  He pasted on a smile and gave his most convincing congratulations.

Soon, a bustle was heard at the front door, and in burst Mr. Solo and Ms. Organa themselves, arms full of bulk goods.  A huge furry dog appeared from the basement, jumping up on Mr. Solo, trying to determine what kind of meat was in the crate.  The older couple struggled to make it in the doorway, and Hux, wanting to make a good impression, decided to help.  

“So nice to finally meet you Ms. Organa, Mr. Solo.  Let me take that for y—” reaching for the precariously balanced crate in Ms. Organa’s arms, the dog ran underfoot, and Hux, in all his nervous clumsiness, came down on his tail.  The dog squealed and whined and ran back to the basement.  Mr. Solo shoved his crates against Hux’s chest and chased after the dog, cooing, “Chewie, buddy, it’s okay, Chewie!”

Hux’s terrified apology started as a shout and quickly shrunk to a whisper.  “Oh my god, I’m so sorry, oh no, I’m so…”

Glaring down at Hux’s offending boot, Ms. Organa growled, “no shoes in the house.”  

 


	3. At The Table

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinner is served. Hux wants to die.

Hux fiddled with the collar of his new Wal-mart t-shirt, finding the tag scratchy and infuriating.  They’d fled to Wal-mart as quickly as possible after Hux stepped on Chewie, and while he found the superstore disgusting, it was a welcome reprieve from the tension of the Organa-Solo home.  After the shopping spree, Ben and Hux had gone in the backdoor, taking the rear stairway up to the guest room (Ben insisted it was still his room, and even though it hadn’t been his in eleven years, there were traces of his youth in the carpet stains and holes in the wall), avoiding Ben’s parents as best they could.  Ben insisted that dinner would be the best time for a proper introduction—food and wine were sure to put everyone at ease.  So they hid up on the third floor until dinner was announced, and now they sat at the oak eight-seater in the dining room, waiting for the chicken to come out of the oven.

“Stop fidgeting so much,” Ben said, leaning across the table and touching his fingers to Hux’s cheek.  “Things go wrong when you get all nervous.  Just chill a bit, yeah?  They’ll love you.”

“They hate me already.”

“The do  _ not  _ hate you.  But if they did, so what?   _ I  _ love you.”

Hux smiled and turned his head a bit, kissing Ben’s fingertips and, in a moment of boldness, sucking on them lightly.  Ben sighed into it, fingering at Hux’s lips, when the kitchen door swung open.  Seeing Han and the potatoes, Ben snatched his hand back, and both young men turned as red as Hux’s hair.  Hux stared at the floor as intently as possible, pretending he could melt a hole with his eyes and sink down through it, straight to hell.  Han set the potatoes down at a glacially slow pace and returned to the kitchen.  Ben and Hux gasped as if they’d been holding their breath.

“Fuck!” Hux whispered.  “Now they think I’m a slut too!”

While Hux felt like dying of shame, Ben was sunk down in his chair, hands on his belly, laughing a silent, racking laugh, tears teasing at the corners of his eyes.  

“How is this so funny to you?!  Aren’t you at all concerned that your parents won’t approve of me?”

“I’m sorry it’s just...it’s like  _ comical _ how unfortunate today has been.  God, what about the luck of the Irish?”

“Dissipates when you cross the Atlantic.”  Hux grumbled.

Rey came bouncing in, then, holding her ring up to the light, admiring it.  She pulled out the chair beside Hux and sat down.  Hux softened a bit—if she chose to sit by him, she must not hate him.  One Organa-Solo on his side was better than none.

Or maybe it was just her usual chair.

“Where’s Jess?”  Ben asked.

“She traded shifts with Poe so he could come to dinner.”

“Poe Dameron?  What’s he coming to dinner for?”

Right on cue, Poe and Finn found their way to their seats beside Ben, whose eyes expanded to three times their usual size.   _ FINN AND POE?!  _  he mouthed at Rey, which Finn and Poe of course saw.  

“Nice to see you too, Ben.”  Finn clapped a hand on Ben’s back.  The Organa-Solo family history was still a bit confusing to Hux, but he knew that Finn and Rey had been adopted at the same time, aged 12 or so, when Ben was in college.  Ben had expressed feeling like a third wheel with them—  Finn and Rey’s closeness in age aided their relationship, and they lived together as siblings while Ben was away at school, bonding without him.  He loved his younger siblings, of course, would do anything for them.  But he resented that he’d never connect to them as strongly as they connected to each other.

That, and the fact that they were much better children to their parents than he ever was.

And here, his little brother was dating his childhood friend, and he had no idea.  “How did this even happen?” 

 “He was always hanging around.”  Finn shrugged.  “Felt inevitable.”

Poe rolled his eyes.  “He makes it sound so special.”

In burst Han and Leia, carrying the chicken and salad, respectively.  “Poe, my main man!”  Han exclaimed.  “So glad you can join us!”

“So nice to see you, dear,”  Leia added.

Hux was not greeted.  Everyone noticed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments so very welcome! Stay tuned for nipple talk


	4. Nipples

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we learn about Hux's past, and mammalian traits.

When Leia finally cared to acknowledge Hux, she didn't so much make conversation as interrogate him.

“Hux.  That’s an interesting name.”  She stabbed at her chicken.  Hux’s hands were sweaty.  “Not very common.  Any relation to Brendol Hux?”

Ben flared his nostrils.  He had already told Leia about Hux’s family, who his father was.  Leia, in her work as a...florist...had done a lot of research on militaristic conflict in Ireland and the U.K., and knew of Lieutenant Brendol Hux as a violent, undiplomatic antagonizer.  She was never one to reserve judgement.

“Yes,” Hux took a gulp of his water.  “He was my father.”

“Was?”  Leia quirked an eyebrow.  “Did he pass recently?”

“A little over a year ago.”  Hux nodded.  “Lung cancer.”

A clink and clatter.  Leia dropped her fork.  Ben smiled.  “Oh, I’m very sorry.  I wasn’t aware.”

“Thank you.”

“And, uh...” It was rare for Leia Organa to struggle with her words.  Ben found it very entertaining.  “Do you have a first name, Hux?”

“Yes." He paused, hoping that was a sufficient answer. It wasn't. "It’s Enda, but no one but my mother has called me that since I was very young.”

“Why not?” asked Rey.

“Well, it’s a fairly normal name for boys and girls where I’m from, but I went to boarding school in England and they made fun of my name quite a bit...said it was an old lady’s name.  It was just easier to go by Hux.”

“Does it mean anything?”  Poe asked.

“Something to do with birds.  And soldiers, I think.  Honestly, I forget about it unless I’m filling out a form.”  Hux shrugged and stuffed his mouth full of chicken, hoping it would save him from talking for a while.

No such luck.  “Where are you from?" Asked Finn. "Your accent is kinda hard to place."  

“I grew up in small town about an hour from Dublin.  But like I said, I left for boarding school in the south of England when I was 13 and have only gone back to Ireland for Christmas every few years.  I moved to London for University and have been there ever since.”

“Hux’s grandparents have a really beautiful farm in Ireland, we went at Christmastime last year.”  Ben was eager to keep the conversation on neutral things.  And how could his parents find conflict in quaint Irish countryside stories?  “Maybe after dinner we can look at some pictures?”

“What kind of animals do they have?”  asked Rey.

“Uh, well, lots of sheep,” Hux chuckled.  “Some cows, a couple horses, chickens...common farm fodder, y’know.”

“Tell them about the squirrels,” Ben prompted.

“Oh, okay, yeah, this is kind of funny.  My granddad somehow got the idea that squirrel milk has some special bone strengthening vitamins or something, I don’t know.  But he set up all these squirrel traps, and then converted one of the chicken coops into a squirrel coop, I guess.  And he started collecting their milk.  And then one day I came down for breakfast, and Ben was eating his cereal and he said, ‘I think this milk might be old, it tastes sort of weird.’”

“I had grabbed the squirrel milk jug by mistake!”  Ben laughed.  

“Well, I had no idea you could milk a squirrel,”  Leia said skeptically.

“Yeah, I think you can milk just about anything with nipples.”  Hux said before his judgement told him better.

And these, dear readers, were the first words that Han Solo spoke directly to poor Enda Hux:  “I have nipples, Hux.  Can you milk me?”

Silence oppressed the dining room for a good 90 seconds before Ben excused himself and his boyfriend from the table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God bless the writers of Meet the Parents (2000) dir. Jay Roach


	5. Wine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Consumable gifts are a terrible idea.

Wal-mart again.  Anything to get out of the house.  Hux thought maybe he could gift Ben’s parents a nice bottle of wine and some bakery items.  He picked up the fanciest cookies he could find and headed to the wine aisle.

“White or red?”  Hux asked Ben.

“Red.”

“Do they have a favorite?”

“Nah.”

Hux scanned the price tags for something expensive.  It would show that he valued them, that he cared how they felt about him.  It would maybe even seem a little desperate, which could earn him sympathy points.  Hux didn’t mind being pitied, as long he got what he wanted.

A pricey bottle would also show that he was well-to-do and able to take care of Ben.  The most expensive bottle he could find was 12 dollars.  Seriously?

“Excuse me,” he flagged down a bearded man in a blue shirt whose name tag read ‘Horace’.  “Do you have any more expensive wine anywhere?”

Horace scrunched his face.  “That shit there, the Nabu, is pretty expensive.  How much are you looking to spend?”

“I dunno, 80, maybe?”

Horace blinked.  “You could buy like eight bottles of Nabu.”

Hux bought just one.

 

 

Hux’s purchases were not so helpful to his plight.  His cookies were declined with a firm “this home is gluten free” from Leia, and the wine, well…

The cheap bottle refused to uncork.  The Organa-Solos looked on, a mixture of amused and annoyed, as Hux turned bright pink, trying to open the bottle.  Ben offered to do it, but the last thing Hux wanted was to appear weak, and to seem as though he needed Ben to do things for him.  Finally, after a good five minutes of struggling, the cork broke free, flying across the living room and striking a vase atop the mantle.

Oh no.  Oh shit.

Crashing to the ground, the vase revealed itself to be an urn.

“Mother!” cried Leia, diving towards the scattered ashes.  Ben and Hux cursed in unison, and while Ben went to find a broom, Hux was not useful, blubbering unintelligible apologies.

Suddenly, a shout from Rey:  “Chewie, no!”

The dog’s shaggy hind leg was raised and a steady stream of piss desecrated Mrs. Organa’s remains.  

Over all the shouts and screams, the thud of 170 pounds hitting the carpet almost went unnoticed.


	6. Bumps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ouch.

It had been four and a half years since Hux had fainted from an anxiety attack.  It had also been four and a half years since he met Ben.

“That’s quite the goose-egg on your noggin,” said the EMT.  His hair was dark and wavy, his face spotted with moles.  Hux noticed how large his nose was and knew he should think him ugly, but felt a pull towards the young man checking pulse.  Not beer goggles, but concussion goggles, maybe?

“You talk like a grandmother,” Hux told the EMT.  “Just say I have a nasty bump on my head.”

“You have a nasty bump on your head.”  The EMT smiled.  “When was the last time you ate a good amount of food?”

“Couple hours ago.”

“And did you drink water today?”

“Seven glasses full.”

“Do you have a history of heart issues?”

“No.  You don’t need to go through the checklist.  It was an anxiety attack.”

“You’ve passed out from anxiety attacks before?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know what brought this one on?”

Hux chewed on his lower lip.  He did know, but unfolding the hyperactive inner-workings of his anxious mind to an attractive stranger was not something he wanted to do, even if he was a trained medical professional.

“Just work stuff.” Hux lied.  “I’ll be fine, just need a bit of rest.”

“Alright, well,” the EMT turned behind him, scribbling something on his clipboard, “if you need anything, don’t hesitate to reach out.”  He handed Hux a glossy emergency services card full of hotline numbers and stock photos of ambulances.  Their fingers brushed together.  Hux shivered. The EMT grinned.  “Take care.”

Hux flipped the card over.  In messy blue ink, a phone number had been scribbled, and a name: Ben.

  
  
  


Hux stared at the guest room’s wood ceiling fan blades, rotating round and round.  They seemed to speed up the longer he stared, but he knew it was just a mind trick.

“Morning, sunshine.”  Ben’s deep voice reverberated through the mattress.  Hux rolled onto his side to see Ben stretched out on top of the covers, his big nose stuck in Tommy Lee’s memoir.  Ben folded the book and smiled softly at Hux.  “You feeling ok?”

“Miserable.”  Hux buried his face in the pillow and then recoiled. It smelled like mothballs.  “Did you carry me up here?”

“Mmhmm.”

“God, that’s embarrassing.”

“It’s fine.”

“I’m ruining everything.”

“No you’re not.  My parents are tough nuts to crack.  It’s nothing to do with you.”

“They hate me.”

“Well, they seemed to feel pretty bad after you fainted.  Maybe now they’ll be extra nice to you.”  A mischievous grin crept across Ben’s face.  “Wait, did you fake that attack?  Was this your plan to win sympathy points?”

Giggling, Hux shook his head.  “I’m not  _ that  _ evil and conniving.”

Ben shifted, settling into the dip of the bed, his face just inches from Hux’s.  He stroked Hux’s silky copper hair, careful to avoid the bump growing near his temple, and pulled him close.  “Coulda fooled me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please leave comments! Stay tuned for more comedy at Hux's expense!


	7. Pictures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All hail Millicent.

 

When Hux had sufficiently convinced Ben that he was feeling better, the latter decided to go chat with his parents.  

“Don’t be too obvious about it,” Hux pleaded, “I don’t want them to think I’m like crying and desperate for their approval.”

“You kind of are, though.” Ben said.

“Yeah, but they can’t know that.”

“Don’t worry,” Ben pressed his lips softly to Hux’s.  “I know how to talk to them.”

Ben disappeared through the door and Hux opened Snapchat, finding his co-worker (subordinate) Mitaka’s story.  Hux thought most social media outside of LinkedIn was useless, but was convinced to download Snapchat in order to see his precious cat, Millicent, from across the sea.  Mitaka had offered to catsit for Ben and Hux, not out of the kindness of his heart, but out of his envy for their amazing flat.  A week in a fabulous flat in SoHo and all he had to do was feed an orange fluffball and occasionally send pics of it to Hux?  Not really a deal to pass up. 

“Hey,” a pretty head appeared in the doorway.  Rey.  “What’re you doing?”

Hux jumped.  “Hi, uh,” his face grew hot and pink.  “I’m looking at pictures of my cat, actually.”

She stepped into the room without invitation and took a seat in the middle of the bed, crossing her legs criss-cross applesauce.  Her hair smelled like peaches.  “Millicent, right?”

“Ben told you about her?”  Hux couldn’t fight his grin.  Ben never seemed to care much for their (Hux’s) cat.

“Yeah, he sends me pictures all the time.  I never thought he’d be a cat person.”

“He isn’t, he hates cats.”

Rey shrugged.  “He likes yours.”  She picked at the loose threads in the afghan as they sat in silence, trying to find something to say.  A lightbulb went off.  “Hey, wanna see pictures of Ben’s goth phase?”

“More than anything.”


	8. Black and Pink

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adorable and embarrassing pasts are revealed.

“This is when Ben insisted on being called ‘Kylo Ren.’”  Rey laughed and pointed at a glossy picture of Ben, about 19, long hair straightened over his eyes, fake lip rings, black lipstick, and black cargo pants with wayyyy too many zippers. And his shirt— 

“Is that mesh?!”  Hux yelped.  “Is he wearing a goddamn mesh shirt?”

Indeed he was.  A long sleeved black mesh shirt with a too-tight red crop top underneath.  The goth phase is no surprise to Hux—element’s remain of it in Ben today.  Dents of closed piercings on his earlobes, his proclivity to paint his nails black, and his collection of unlistenable music are no secret.  Teen Goth Ben, as a concept, did not shock Hux.  Slutty Mesh Goth Ben, however, did.

“What are you guys—” Ben in the doorway froze when he spotted the heavy leather photo album.  “Well, fuck.”

Hux beamed up at him.  “Quite the look you had.”

Ben glared.  “Rey.”

“Oh come on,” she protested.  “It’s cute!”

“It’s embarrassing is what it is,” Ben sighed as he made his way to the bed.  His weight was felt through the mattress as he settled next to Hux, brushing red hair away from his neck and settling his chin on Hux's shoulder. “Are you appalled?”

“Absolutely.”  said Hux.  “Disgusted.”  He pressed a kiss to Ben’s forehead.  “I suppose it’s only fair that I tell you about my most embarrassing phase.”

Rey and Ben’s eyes lit up as they said, in unison, “Tell me!”

 

It took him longer than he thought to find the pictures.  Hux didn’t have Facebook, of course, but he knew some of his friends from University would probably have pictures of nights out from all those years ago, Throwback Thursdays or whatever.  He texted four or five of the guys he primarily hung out with back then, and his second-year roommate, Oliver, was the first to respond.

Yes, he had many pictures he could text him.  Did he want them all?  Jesus, how many were there?

In the end, three were sent.  Hux chose his favorite to show to Ben and Rey, but not before something of a preamble.

“Ok, when I was younger I was kind of...free-spirited.”

Ben quirked an eyebrow.  His Hux was many things, but free-spirited wasn’t one of them.  

“I guess it was my form of rebellion.  My dad really pushed tradition and masculinity and all that, and when I was, I dunno 18 or 19, I decided I was pretty pissed at him...or maybe the whole rebellion thing was just an excuse.  Anyway.”

He handed his phone to Ben.  On the screen was a picture of a beauty in pastels seated at a picnic table, legs crossed daintily, gazing at something out of frame.  A long, lithe frame clothed in tight denim shorts, a bubble gum pink sweater, and scuffed black Converse.  The sleeves of the sweater were pushed up past the elbows, revealing pale forearms coated in freckles and stacked with homemade bracelets.  Shoulder-length faded pink hair with ginger roots was parted on the left, and pushed behind lovely large ears.  Translucent eyelashes and sharper-than-ever cheekbones were captivating. Magenta-painted lips stretched into a familiar smile.

Ben gasped and grinned.

Hux sighed.  “Go ahead and laugh.”

Rey and Ben exchanged glances, then shifted their gazes to Hux.  Rey spoke first.  “You’re kidding, right?”

Hux quirked an eyebrow quizzically. 

“You look amazing.” Rey told him, irritated, as if it were the most obvious and therefore infuriating thing in the world.  “You look like a supermodel.”

Ben said nothing.  He stared at the picture again.

Hux’s stomach flipped.  “Ben?”

Voice barely above a whisper, Ben said, “I’ve dreamt about this.”

Hux titled his head.  Did he mean that he’d fantasized about a pretty pink Hux, or seen him in actual dreams?

“I’ve had dreams where this is what you look like.”  Ben said, gesturing to the picture on the phone.  “Or, just one dream, but over and over.  We’re running through the city, along the river, and it’s hazy out.  And you’re in front of me, pulling me by the hand, glancing back at me here and there and laughing and saying I’m too slow.  And you have this long pink hair and your eyes glow.  And your feet never touch the ground.”  Ben paused.  “And I ask you who you are, I say, ‘you look like Hux but you aren’t, are you?’ And you say, ‘I’m Enda, and I’m an angel.’  And then you throw your head back and laugh, like really loud and rich and it rings and the rest of the city disappears and it’s just me and you and some birds and the river and you say, again, that I’m too slow, and you yank on my hand and we keep running.  Or, flying.  I don’t know.  Your feet never touch the ground.”

Rey decided to leave.  This was between her brother and his partner.  She gathered up the album and tiptoed out of the room, but Hux and Ben paid her no mind.  

“How many times?”  Hux asked quietly.

Ben shrugged.  “Nine or ten maybe.  The first one was about a month after we met.”

“And the last one?”

“On the plane.  On the way here.”

Hux took Ben’s right hand and opened it, turning his palm towards the ceiling.  With his index finger, Hux traced a heart in Ben’s palm, then another one, then another.  They’d been doing this for years, when words wouldn’t come but love needed to expressed.  Hux pressed a light kiss to Ben’s fingers and Ben was just about to do the same when there was a knock at the door.

“Boys,” said Leia, poking her head in.  “Could you come down to the living room?  Han and I would like to have a chat with you both.”

Hux prepared himself for the possibility of another fainting spell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the delay on this chapter! Will try to be more consistent, but this weekend was hectic!  
> Comments welcome as always. Pink Hux is magic and I needed him in my story.


	9. The Chat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Improvements...maybe.

“It has come to our attention,” Leia began, “that we may have been a little…”

“Cold.”  Han finished.  Ben’s parents were seated together on the scratched leather couch, Leia leaning forward earnestly, Han laying back as if on his way to sleep.  Across the coffee table, Ben and Hux sat on the loveseat—Ben relaxed, like his father, while Hux sat ramrod straight, knee bouncing with nerves.  

“And it was unfair of us,” Leia continues, “to write you off so quickly.  In fact, I suppose we maybe had written you off before you even got here.”

“We did.” Han nodded.

Ben leaned forward, intrigued.  “Why?”

“Well, I suppose maybe we blamed Hux on how little we got to see you.”  Leia sighed.

“We always thought you’d come back from London after a year or so,” explained Han.  “But you’ve been there for five years now, and you’ve only visited us twice.  And you obviously stayed in London because of,” Han gestured in Hux’s general direction.  

“Hux.” Ben said firmly, irritated that Han was being so dismissive of his partner.  

“So we just sort of decided we didn’t like him, I suppose.”  Shrugged Leia.  Ben’s nostrils flared— he knew there was more to it than that.  Hux’s father, for one.  And something else.  But Ben wasn’t sure what.  “But!”  Leia smiled.  “That’s in the past now!  Let’s start fresh, yeah?”  She leaned off the couch and extended a hand to Hux, who shook it tentatively.  “So lovely to meet you, Hux, Ben has told us so much about you.”

Hux smiled nervously.  “Likewise.”

“Well, this was nice!” announced Han, pushing himself to his feet.  “Goodnight, boys!”

“Whoa, whoa!” said Ben, rising to his full height, towering over his father.  “That’s it?  That’s how you make amends?”

“Ben—”

“You didn’t even say sorry!”

“I’m pretty sure it was in there somewhere,”  Leia stood now, too, and looked to Han. “Right, honey?” 

Han shrugged.  “It’s late.  We’ll have a fresh start in the morning.  Tomorrow is another day!  Hux, let me show you where you’re staying.”

Neither Ben nor Hux had time to protest before Han was leading Hux down a half flight of stairs to the den, where a futon was made up for him.  

“Listen, kid,” Han said, “I’m no idiot, I know you and Ben live together and do...whatever it is you do.  I don’t care.  Just, not under my roof, alright?  No one has relations in this house but my wife and me.”

“I— “

“Just keep the snake in its cage for a few days, yeah?”  Han gave a wink and shut the den door behind him.  

Hux plopped down on the bed, unsure of how to feel.  A bit better, maybe, given that Ben's parents  _ did _ smile at him.  But jeez, he surely wasn’t their best friend yet.  Stripping down to his boxers, he heard a creak to his left.  Glancing, he saw a wood panel in the wall slowly move.  A secret door?

“What the fuck…”

Hux had to investigate.


	10. Truths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some things are revealed.

Dimly lit, brick walls, and photos everywhere.  Photos of Ms. Organa shaking hands with the three most recent presidents, the Dalai Lama, the Defense Secretary and more foreign leaders that Hux couldn’t identify.  There was a desk covered with meticulously organized manila folders and documents, three rifles mounted on the wall, and a table with a...is that a…?

“A polygraph machine,” Leia’s voice made Hux jump and hit his head on the pipe above him.  Oh yeah, the ceiling was quite low down here.

“Ms. Organa, I was just—”

“Snooping?”

Hux hissed and rubbed his head.  “The door swung open, I just…” Leia’s stare bore into him.  “Yeah, I guess I was snooping.”

“Would you like to see how it works?”

“What?”

Leia gestured behind Hux.  “The machine.  Do you want to see how it works?”

“Uh.”  Death seemed certain.  Hux wanted to cry or scream or run.  Mostly run.  

“Oh, c’mon, it’ll be fun!”  Leia moved over to the table, pulling out a chair for Hux and sitting down in the chair across from it.  “A good way for us to get to know each other.”  Hux stared, wishing he had a distress signal he could send out for Ben to come rescue him.  “Please, Hux.  Sit.”

The rifles on the wall caught his eye.  Hux sat.  Leia smiled and hummed to herself as she took Hux’s fingers and began attaching wires to them.  The beating of his heart was deafening.  Yes, he would surely die tonight.

“Ok, this is very simple.”  said Leia.  “I ask you a yes or no question, and if you lie, the machine can tell.”  Hux gulped.  “Trust and honesty are very important in this family, Hux.  It is important you don’t lie to me.”  She tried to smile warmly, but looked more like a dog baring its teeth.  “But, just for fun, how about you lie for one question.  Just so you can how the machine works.”

“Um...ok.  Any of the questions?”

“Yep, just pick one to lie on, and answer the rest truthfully.”

“Okay.”

“Are you ready?”

No.  “Yeah.”

“Is your name Enda Hux?”

“Yes.”

Leia nodded.  “Truth.  Were you born in Ireland?”

“Yes.”

Again, Leia nodded.  “Are you 30 years old?”

“No.”

“Interesting,” said Leia, watching the machine react as it did for the last two questions.  “You appear to be telling the truth, and yet Ben told me you were 30.”

“I’m 33.  I’m not sure why he would tell you that.  Maybe you’re remembering wrong?”  Leia shot him glare.  Hux shook his head.  “No, I’m sure you’re remembering right.  Uh, I dunno.  Maybe he thought you’d disapprove if I was older.”

“Hmm.  Maybe I’ll have to bring him down here.”  Leia chuckled.  Hux tried to laugh too, but it came out more like a whimper.  “Next question.  Have you ever watched pornographic videos?”

“Uh, uh, I, uh—no.  No, never.”

The needles jumped.  Of course.  Leia frowned.  “I told you, Hux, honesty is very important to me.”

“I know, I...you told me to pick one to lie about?  To see how it worked?”

“Right.  Yes.  Next question.  Have you ever produced or appeared in pornographic videos...including amateur, homemade videos.”

“Are...are you asking me if Ben and I have made a sex tape?”

“I guess that would be included in the broader question, yes.”

“Mom?!”  Ben, stooped low so as not to his head, stood in the doorway.  “What the fuck are you doing?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't actually know how a polygraph works :P


	11. Sensations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's hard to be good.

“What the hell is the matter with you, Mom?!”  Ben shouted, taking the machine’s clamps off of Hux’s fingers.  “Hux is my boyfriend, not an inmate at fucking Guantanamo!”

“He said he wanted to see how it works!”  Leia protested, rising from her chair.  She was a full foot shorter than her son, but so much more intimidating.

“After you bullied him into it, I’m sure!”  Ben replied.  

Leia looked to Hux, glaring.  “Hux, did I bully you into this?”

Hux froze, glancing back and forth between the two angry individuals.  “Uh.  I have to go to the bathroom.”

He practically ran out of the room.

 

 

When he had calmed down enough, Hux emerged from the bathroom and returned to the den, where Ben was sitting on the futon, mumbling to himself.

“Hi.”  said Hux.

“Hi.”

“How did you know to come down?”

“Sixth sense.  Just a feeling in my stomach that you weren’t ok.”

Hux nodded.  It certainly wasn’t the first time Ben’s weird hypersensitivity had gotten him out of sticky situations. “Where’s your mom?”

“Upstairs.  I told her off and she stormed up to bed.”  Ben sighed, but his mouth twitched into a smile at the metallic squeak when Hux plopped down next to him.  “I’m so sorry.  I knew it wouldn’t be smooth-sailing, but I never thought it would be like this.”

“Your mother was never a florist, was she?”

Ben snorted.  “What gave it away?”  He reached for Hux’s nearest hand, the left, and started playing with his fingers.  It always comforted them both, the slight, light contact.  One by one, Ben pushed down lightly on the tips of Hux’s long fingers.  He sighed deeply.  “My mother was in the CIA.”

“The CIA?!”  Hux pulled his hands away, startled.  “Why didn’t you tell me?!”

“It’s always been on a strictly need-to-know basis, y’know.  And she retired before I met you so it didn’t seem...relevant...I guess.  I’m sorry.”

“She probably knows all about my dad, then, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Is that why she doesn’t like me?”

“I think that’s part of it.  But there’s gotta be something else.  And I don’t know what it is.  She’s never been this...intense.”

“She didn’t treat your exes like this?”

“No, no.  I mean, she wasn’t exactly warm towards them, but this is something else.”  Ben rested his head on Hux’s shoulder, curling a hand around his small bicep.  “But I suppose it makes sense that she’s more intense now.”

“Yeah?  Why?”

“Because you’re the only person I’ve ever been this serious about.”  Hux moved his hand to Ben’s knee.  “The others...she knew it wouldn’t last, so she didn’t care.”  Ben tilted his head up and pressed a wet kiss to Hux’s jaw.  “But you,” Ben moved again, blowing hot breath up Hux’s jawline, nuzzling against the short golden-red hairs there.  “She knows you’re gonna be around for a while.”

Hux chuckled.  “A while, eh?”  He squeezed Ben’s knee, which Ben responded to by taking Hux’s earlobe in between his lips, sending a shiver down Hux’s spine.  “H-how long?”

“I dunno,” whispered Ben, causing the little hairs on Hux’s ear to stand on end.  “Forever, maybe?”

“Maybe?”

“If you play your cards right.”  Ben surged into Hux hungrily, tongue agile as it worked its way into Hux’s mouth.  Hux gripped one hand in Ben’s long hair, and used the other to pull at his hip, bringing Ben into a half-straddling position on his lap.  That was all Ben needed to ramp it up, pulling his tee-shirt over his head and rocking into Hux.  He found a prime spot on Hux’s pale neck and began sucking, holding Hux’s ass with one hand and trailing down his chest with the other.  He drew light circles on the soft skin near Hux’s belly button, where he knew he was ticklish.  Something between a moan and a giggle escaped from Hux’s lips.  Ben’s hands drifted down further, gripping the stiffness forming under Hux’s boxers.

“No,” said Hux, grabbing hold of Ben’s offending wrist.  

“They’re not gonna hear us, babe,” said Ben, sucking at Hux’s neck harder.  “This house has extra thick walls.”

With much reluctance, Hux pushed Ben away gently.  “I promised your dad I’d...keep my snake in its cage.”

Ben threw back his head and laughed.  “Your what?!”

“He said,” here, Hux adopted a surprisingly good gruff American accent, “‘Under my roof, you better keep your snake in its cage!’”

“Well,” said Ben, toying with the waistband of his own boxers, “he didn’t say anything about  _ my  _ snake.”  He began to slip the boxers down over his hips, but Hux shook his head.

“Ben, I can’t.  If I’m ever going to get on your parents’ good side, I have to follow their rules.”

“I’m 30 years old, for chrissakes, not 16.  C’mon, babe,” he rubbed his big hands up Hux’s thighs, and Hux practically chewed a hole through his bottom lip.

“You know I want to, but if they were to find out, they’d think I was, like, a bad influence, and they wouldn’t be able to trust me, and—”

Ben shut him up with a kiss, albeit a chaste one.  “Okay.”  Hux was beginning to pant, anxiety getting the best of him.  Ben smoothed stray red locks away from Hux’s forehead, then wrapped him up in his arms.  “It’s okay.  Deep breaths.”  

Hux buried his head in Ben’s chest, ashamed of the wetness forming in his eyes.  “It’s so much pressure, they hate me so much…”

“Shh, shh, it’s okay, it’s okay,” Ben rocked, holding Hux tight.  “What do you need?  What can I do for you?”

“Could you just...would you lay with me?  Just until I fall asleep?  Then you have to go upstairs, I can’t have your parents thinking you slept down here with me.”

“Of course.”  Ben pressed a kiss to Hux’s temple and laid them back.  They shifted into their usual Hux-is-anxious position, Ben curled around Hux’s back, fingers splayed against Hux’s soft stomach, holding him tight enough to make Hux feel secure, but loose enough so that he wouldn’t feel suffocated.  Ben blew on Hux’s neck in long, soft breaths, and in less than five minutes, Hux was fast asleep and snoring.

Ben untangled himself slowly, careful not to wake Hux.  He pressed one more kiss to Hux’s silky hair, tucked the old quilt tight around the wiry frame he loved so much, and clapped out the lights.  


	12. A New Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Breakfast goes better than dinner...but just barely.

Hux woke up to the sound of clattering dishes and laughter from the kitchen.  He blinked, eyes dry and stinging, and realized he had slept in his contacts.  Shit.  The laptop bag he had carried on had some extra contacts and his spare glasses, but he had left it up in Ben’s room.  He’d have to walk past the whole household to get to it.  He popped out the old ones before they permanently scratched up his corneas, and, fumbling half-blind, made his way up the stairs.

“There he is!”  He heard Ben’s booming voice over the clinks and clangs of breakfast, and then a familiar black and white blur was approaching.  He was glad to see Ben’s smile come into focus, comforted as Ben threw an arm around him and asked him how he slept.

“Just fine, but, uh, my contacts and clothes are up in your room, I can’t see much right now.”

“Oh, right, yeah.” Ben began leading Hux up the stairs.  “I’ll be right back,” he called to the table.

When they were out of earshot of the family, Hux hissed, “why didn’t you wake me up earlier?  Your family’s going to think I’m lazy and disrespectful!”

“I went down to wake you, but you were all smiley like you were having a good dream.  Were you fucking the Trivago guy again?”  Hux rolled his eyes and Ben pecked his cheek. “You had such a rough night last night, I figured you needed the rest.”  They entered Ben’s room and Hux found his laptop bag, fishing out a pair of contacts, and then dug through the Walmart bag for a pair of underwear and a clean shirt.  They hadn’t had jeans in his size—it was tough to find pants long enough and slim enough for his frame—so he wore yesterday’s, even though it made him feel disgusting.  

He dressed, then headed next door to pop in his contacts, brush his teeth, and splash some water on his face.  He finger-combed and fluffed his hair, and when he returned to Ben’s room, he noticed three pillows lying lengthwise on the right side of the bed.

“Aww, darlin’,” Hux smiled at him, who was seated in the corner, checking emails on his phone.  “Did you get lonely last night?”

Ben tried to shrug nonchalantly.  “Bed felt empty, is all.”  Hux tilted his head fondly.  Rolling his eyes, Ben sighed and pulled Hux by the hand.  “Oh, shut up.  Let’s go eat.”

 

 

“So Hux,” Finn bit into a pancake and didn’t swallow before asking the question.  “How’d you and Ben get together?”

Hux quirked an eyebrow at Ben.  “You never told them?”

“How I became your Significant Annoyance?”  Ben laughed and sipped his OJ.  “I’m sure I have.”

“Oh, he has,” Finn nodded, “I just wanted to hear your take.  Hard to know how much of what Ben says is the truth.”

“On average, it’s like, 30%,” laughs Rey.

“Ah.  Well, back when Ben was an EMT—”

“You mean, before he dropped out of med school and wasted all our money?”  Han interrupted.  

Hux looked dumbfounded, Ben looked at the ground.  “Uh, I guess so, yeah.  Well, uh, I had had an...attack, at work.”

“An attack?!”  Poe gasped.  “Like, you got jumped?  Where the hell do you work?  Ben, buddy, you never told us Hux had such an exciting job!”

“Ah, no,” Hux reddened.  “I was an editor at a publishing house, I didn’t get jumped.  It was a...it was a panic attack.  The company had lost a lot of money, and I got laid off and freaked out.  I had worked there since I graduated and had no idea what I was going to do.  So, uh, I had an attack, and my boss kind of overreacted and called the EMTs.  And there was Ben.”

“Aww,” Rey cooed.  “Ben saved your life.”

Ben laughed.  “No, Rey, I didn’t.  I just annoyed him until he fully conscious and then gave him my number.”

Grinning, Hux nodded.  “That’s pretty much how it went.”

“So what did you do?”  Finn asked.  “I mean, after you got laid off.”

“I started my own publishing company.  I had a lot of money saved up, and quite a few good people who got laid off and were willing to work for me...First Order Press came together pretty quickly.  Now we’re the top independent fiction and poetry publishing company in London.”

“I wondered how you and Ben lived in such a nice place, with him making pennies teaching underprivileged kids...what is it you teach them, again?”  asked Rey.

“Tae kwon do and painting,” Ben mumbled.

“Tae kwon do and painting!” Rey repeated, laughing.

“So you’re like, Ben’s sugar daddy, huh, Hux?”  Finn prodded.

“That would make Ben a trophy husband, wouldn’t it?”  Rey teased.  “He’s not pretty enough for that.”

Hux glanced at Ben, who was intently focused on swirling designs in the syrup on his plate.  No wonder Ben didn’t love talking to his family—they sure were good at tearing him down.

Hux cleared his throat.  “Ben and I both work very hard at jobs we love.  Ben is not my ‘trophy husband,’ though he’s certainly pretty enough to be one if he so chose.”

Ben smiled his thanks before Han interrupted the nice moment.  “Speaking of husbands, are you planning on making an honest man out of my son anytime soon?”

Hux tried not to roll his eyes at such antiquated notions.  Luckily, he was saved by the arrival of a young woman he had yet to meet.  “Let’s just focus on one wedding in the family at a time, huh, Han?”

She was beautiful, around 25 or 26, with silky black hair tied back from a pretty tan face.  She wore nylon gym shorts and a gray tank top, and when she reached out to shake Hux’s hand, he noticed a tiny airplane tattooed on her forearm.  “You must be Hux, I’m Jess.”

“Nice to meet you, Jess.” 

Jess settled into the chair next to Rey, who kissed her good morning.  Hux couldn’t help but notice the happiness with which the family gazed at the couple.  They loved Jess, clearly, and they loved Poe, too.  What made Hux so different?

“Thanks for letting me sleep in, hon,”  Jess said to Rey, reaching across her for the coffee.  “That late shift is a doozy.”

“I couldn’t wake you when you looked so peaceful.”  Rey nuzzled against Jess’s arm.  

Quietly to Ben, Hux asked, “they get to sleep together?”

Solemnly, Ben nodded.  “Poe and Finn, too.  What the fuck, right?”

Hux felt a fire burning in his stomach.  He could tolerate a lot, but injustice he couldn’t ignore.  It wasn’t fair.  Why welcome Jess and Poe so warmly, allow them so much freedom, but treat Ben and Hux like delinquents?  Especially when Rey and Finn were still practically children at 22 and 23 compared to 30 year old, been-on-his-own-for-years Ben?

Ben sensed the anger rising in Hux and placed a hand on his knee, wordlessly telling him to leave it be, it wasn’t worth the fight.  Maybe it was just that they’d known them longer.  It would just take time.  The morning hadn’t been too bad yet.  Maybe Hux’s relationship with the Organa-Solos really could start fresh.

“Phaz should be here any minute to help set up for the engagement party,” said Rey, looking at her watch.

“Phasma’s coming?”  Ben practically spit out his juice.

“Of course, she’s my maid of honor!” answered Rey.

“Phasma your high school girlfriend, Phasma?”  Hux asked Ben.  Ben reddened.

“She was more than that,” said Han.  “Phasma and Ben were engaged.”

“And,” Leia smiled conspiratorially, pouring her coffee.  “She’s still single.”  Hux had never seen a wink so sinister.


	13. The Ex

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet the Phasma

Holy fuck she was tall.  Taller than Ben, even, though not by much.  Her hair was a shock of white-blond, buzzed on one side, revealing earrings all the way up her ear.  Her pants were leather, black, and her top was a shiny chrome that hung off her muscular shoulders, but there was nothing tacky about her outfit, to Hux’s astonishment.  He had to admit, she was cool as hell.

Fuck.

“Ben, ahh!”  she screeched towards him like a giant chrome eagle, pressing purple lipstick marks to his cheeks.  “My god, it’s been too long!  How are you, my dear?”  She pulled back, holding Ben’s face in large yet delicate hands.

“I’m good, I’m good.”  Ben was quick to pull Hux to his side.  “This is Hux.”

“Hux!  So nice to meet you!”  Phasma engulfed him in a hug so tight, he worried he may suffocate against her breasts. “I’ve seen pictures on Facebook, of course, but here you are, in the flesh!”  She released him from her death grip and he tried to keep his relieved breath quiet.  

“Yeah, great to meet you!” Hux lied.  In another life, one where Phasma was not previously engaged to his partner, Hux thought they may have made great friends.  But Hux didn’t like to waste time on hypotheticals.

“I’m sure you’ve heard all the stories from mine and Ben’s wild days,”  she elbowed Ben’s ribs, unaware of her own strength.  Ben’s face screwed up in pain.  “Man, the shit we used to get into!”

“So you’re Rey’s maid of honor!”  Ben was always good at changing the subject.  “That’s great!  What are your big plans for the engagement party on Saturday?  You’re in charge, right?”

“Yeah, it’s kind of a hybrid engagement party and bachelorette party.  Family friendly barbecue in the evening, shots and a burlesque show when the sun goes down.”

Ben smiled, eager to include Hux in the conversation.  Y’know, Hux used to dan—”

“Down shots like nobody’s business!”  Hux said a little too loudly.  He shot Ben a look, warning him not to push it.  The dancing wasn’t something he was exactly proud of, and it was a long, long time ago.  “But turning 30 turned me into a bit of a lightweight.”  He yawned.  “And, it made me perpetually exhausted.  Excuse me, I need to refill my coffee.”

Hux ducked into the kitchen and tried to ignore how warmly Phasma was received.  Was he a ghost?  Did he smell terribly?  He gave his armpits a quick sniff, but found nothing offending.  So why did the Organa-Solos seem to love everyone but him?  He bet even the mailman got hugs and kisses everyday at 3 pm.  

In came Phasma and Rey, giggling about God knows what.  Rey stuck her head in the freezer, searching for something deep in the back, while Phasma sidled up next to Hux.

“How’s the coffee?” she asked.

“It’s fine.”

“Does Ben drink coffee now?  He used to hate the stuff.  Couldn’t even stand the smell of it.”

“He likes it just fine.  The sugary Starbucks coffees, at least.”

“It’s so weird to see him without all those piercings.  You really tamed him, huh?”

Hux avoided making eye contact.  He was wary of her, unsure of her intentions. “He didn’t have any piercings when I met him.  He stopped wearing them when he went to med school.  I had nothing to do with it.”

“He seems so much calmer.  More subdued.”

“He’s matured.”

“God, the shit we used to do!  Breaking into old buildings, stealing CDs, cherry bombs in mailboxes...he was wild, man.  You couldn’t even imagine.”

“Ben can still be wild.”  Hux spit out.  “It’s not like he’s turned into Mr. Rogers.  You just got here, you don’t know 30 year old Ben at all.”

Phasma paused.  She looked at Hux with surprise, then concern, and finally an empathetic smile.

“Ahh, I see.”  Her tone warmed.  “Listen, Hux, relax, yeah?  The deep spiritual connection that you and Ben have, that I can just feel radiating off you two...I mean, we never had even a tenth of that!”

“Really?”

“Yeah!  Our relationship was...mostly physical.”

Hux swallowed and stared into his coffee mug.  “What.”

“Relationships should have three dimensions of connection.  Spiritual, intellectual, and sexual.  Ben and I only really had the sexual dimension.  But boy, did we have it!”  Phasma smiled wistfully at the memory of trysts past.  Hux felt sick.

“I need to, uh, go to the bathroom.”  

As he rushed away, Rey floated towards Phasma, laughing.  “God, he pees a lot.  Hope his prostate’s okay.”

Ben entered the kitchen, unsure of what he just heard.  “What about Hux’s prostate?”


	14. The Big Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Speedos and volleyball and horrible horrible times.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for suicide mentions

For some sick reason, a relaxing Sunday in the Organa-Solo home meant an extremely competitive game of pool volleyball.

“What happened to watching football in your underwear?  Isn’t that what Americans do on a Sunday?”  Hux asked Ben as they entered the cold-blasted Hell that was Wal-Mart.  They needed to find him swim trunks and some SPF 100 sunscreen.

“Normal people, yeah.”

“Have they always done this?”

“No.  It started when Finn and Rey came.  We didn’t do any kind of—” here, Ben screwed up his face and made air quotes with his fingers, “ _ family fun time _ when it was just me.”

As they approached the swimsuit section, Hux’s stomach dropped.  All he saw was lots and lots of empty metal racks. 

“Oh god.”

“Maybe there’s more in the back?”  Ben surveyed the sad metal skeleton that held two bikinis, a couple of Speedos, and one pair of toddler sized Avengers swim trunks.

“It’s the end of July, Ben, there isn’t more in the back.”

“‘Scuse me,” Ben flagged down an employee who strongly resembled a walrus with Rosacea.  “Do you have more swimsuits in the back?”

“Nope, this is all we got.  These are 70% off though.”

“And which of these do you suggest I wear?”  Hux hissed.

Walrus walked away without a word.

“Shit!” Hux stared at his options, terrified.

“It’s a real Sophie’s Choice,” Ben quipped.  

Hux did not laugh.  “You’re sure you don’t have any extra trunks at home?  In a storage closet or something?”  

“I’m sure.  Finn might lend you a pair?  I’ll text him.”

“No!  I can’t wear someone else’s.”

“You just asked to wear mine!”

“You’re regularly inside me.  It’s a little different.  Oh!  I know.  We buy this Speedo, you wear it, and I’ll wear the trunks you packed!”

“Why should  _ I _ wear the Speedo?”

“It’s your family!  Plus, I would look ridiculous in a Speedo.   _ You’d _ probably look great.”

“You used to wear even less on a  _ stage _ every Wednesday and Friday night, remember?”

“Well I’m not in my 20s anymore.”  He gazed with disappointment at his soft belly.  "Plus, my near-naked form was seen by strangers, not my future in-laws!"

Ben smiled, not commenting on Hux's presumption of marriage in their future.   “Come on, you’ll be underwater from the waist down most of the time anyway.”

“Fuck.”

“Yellow or blue?”

  
  


“Wooo!  Little boy blue, blow that horn!!!”  Rey was already buzzed on a frozen margarita and it made her a bit shouty.  Picture poor Hux, shuffling on the pool steps, trying to acclimate to the cold quickly so he could hide his shame underwater.  He’s so very pale, the Speedo is so very blue, his hair is so very red, as are his cheeks.  

The worst part?  They only had a small in stock.  So the Speedo was also very,  _ very _ tight.  Poe wolf whistled from across the pool and Hux could feel death in his bones.  Ben waded in next to him, two beers in hand.  Hux snatched one and began chugging like a man lost in the desert.  He would need  _ a lot  _ of alcohol to get through today. 

“Do you have anything harder?”

“You wanna do shots or something?”  Ben laughed as Hux nodded.  “It’s noon!”

“I’m still on England time.”

From the diving board, Finn clapped his hands and demanded everyone’s attention.  “Alright, let’s split into teams!  In the deep end: Poe, Rey, Phas, and Ben.  Shallow end: Jess, Hux, Han, and me.”

The  _ whyyyyyy _ in Hux’s head was loud enough for Ben to hear it.  “It’s tradition.  Couples are always split up.”

“That’s fucking evil.”

Ben just shrugged.

 

Sports were never Hux’s strong suit.  In school, he excelled in making up excuses to get out of gym class.  He was perfectly content to hang out in the corner of the pool, move his head like he was watching the ball, but never try to make contact.  This strategy worked just fine until Phasma started lobbing the ball directly to him.  It splashed beside him.  Leia called “point!”

“Dammit, Hux!” Snapped Han.  “That came right to ya!  Look alive, kid!”

Finn shot Hux a sympathetic smile and set the ball.  He scored a point, which Poe congratulated enthusiastically, even though it was at his expense.  A couple minutes later, Phasma sent the ball towards Hux again.  And again, he failed.

“Dux is afraid of the ball!”  Phasma laughed.

“ _ Hux!” _ Rey corrected.  “ _ Hux  _ is afraid of the ball!”

“C’mon, kid, you’re killing us!”  Han shouted.  “Get your head in the game!  If we lose I’ll never hear the end of it!”

“Hux, here,”  said Jess, calling him over.  He waded towards her awkwardly.  “Let’s switch spots.  No one ever aims towards this spot.”

Hux nodded his thanks, embarrassed out of his mind.  He was a 33 year old man and couldn’t play a damn game of pool volleyball?!  Unacceptable.  It was time to Hulk Up.

Hulking Up.  That’s what Ben and Hux called channeling their anger into strength, something they were both quite good at.  The difference was, Ben has strength even when he was happy.  He could toss Hux over his shoulder and run for blocks, a smile on his face, and feel just fine.  Hux, however, had trouble opening a jar of jam when in a good mood.  Pissed off, though, he’d won fights against men twice his size and moved many a couch.  Surely he could Hulk Up for volleyball.  It’s not like he was lacking any anger this weekend.

Phasma aimed towards him again, even in his new spot.  This time, he wasn’t going to be made a fool of.  Hux leaped out of the air (wow, that Speedo was  _ really _ small) and hit the ball with every annoyance, every fear, every rage-inducing injustice of the last—God, had it only been 21 hours?? It felt like an eternity.

A smack.  A scream.  Fluid red spiderwebs growing growing growing in the water.

Oh SHIT.

“My nose!”  Rey cried.  Everyone swarmed around her—Leia even jumped in the pool, fully dressed.  The sobs were horrific.

“Jesus Christ, Hux!”  Han’s eyes screamed  _ murder _ .  “It’s just a goddamn game!”

Hux wondered about dunking his head underwater.  When his lungs started screaming for air, would he give in and rise to the top?  Probably.  He needed something heavy…

“Jesus,” he muttered to himself.  “I probably couldn’t even kill myself properly.”

 


	15. Making Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hux patches things up with Rey.

“Rey, God, I am soooo sorry.”  Hux stood in the doorway of Rey’s bedroom, where Leia was holding an ice pack to Rey’s swollen eye and nose.  Ben had set it for her with a loud crack, after having her down some vodka, of course.  “I feel absolutely horrible.”

“Well,” said Leia, “it was a horrible thing.”

“Mom, can you go get me some more booze, please?”  Rey said nasally.

“I can get it,” Hux started, but Rey shook her head.  

“Mom knows where the good stuff is.”

Leia rose with a sigh and a glare that bore into Hux like a laser.  When she was gone, Rey beckoned him in.  He sat beside her on the bed, gently repositioning the ice against her face.  Rey winced at the cold.

“Sorry.”  

“It’s ok.”

“It really isn’t.  God, I don’t know what I was thinking.  I mean I didn’t mean to hit you of course, but I shouldn’t have hit it so hard.  I should’ve just let them all make fun of me.  I’d rather they think me weak than a monster, y’know?”  Hux was surprised at himself for being so honest with a stranger.  Though, he did bust her nose, so maybe he felt he owed it to her.

“I’m sorry your welcome hasn’t been so warm.”  

“Yeah, well... _ you _ have nothing to apologize for.  You’ve been great.  Jesus, if I’d hit anyone else I might feel a little okay about it...sorry.  Finn’s been nice too.  And Jess.  She seems great.  Congratulations, by the way, I don’t think I’ve said that yet, have I?”

Rey laughed.  “You looked kind of sick when the news was announced, actually.”

“Yeah, sorry….Can you keep a secret?”

Rey’s one open eye lit up.  “Fuck yeah I can.”

Hux exhaled slowly.  “The reason I didn’t seem so happy about your engagement is because I’m a selfish bastard and well...I had sort of been planning on...if things had gone well, at least, if your family liked me, I was gonna—”

“You were gonna propose to Ben this week.”

“Yeah.”

“Dude.”

“I know.”  Hux adjusted the ice again.  “But that doesn’t mean it was ok for me to act like a 12 year old.  I’m really sorry, Rey.  I’m really happy for you.  And  _ really _ sorry I broke your nose.”

“It’s ok, Hux, I get it.  And don’t worry about my nose, the ball didn’t hit me that hard, I just have very fragile cartilage.”

Hux laughed.  “Okay.”

“I’m just bummed I’m going to be all swollen and red at the engagement party tomorrow.”

“Not necessarily...do you have any makeup?”

“Not really, no.”

Hux pulled out his phone and rang Ben.  “Hey, can you go to Wal-Mart for me?”

Ben hung up on him and Hux was about to swear when he appeared in the doorway, phone pressed to his ear.  “I was literally down the hall, Hux, don’t waste our international minutes.”

“I need you to go to Wal-mart and get…” he found a pen and piece of paper and began writing down brands and color codes of foundation, concealer, blush, highlighter, and shadows, all while inspecting Rey’s palette with his keen eye for detail.  He handed the note to Ben, who quirked a brow and then saluted before turning on his heel and heading to the rental car.

45 minutes later, Rey looked as good as new, if you ignored the fact that her left eye didn’t open all the way.  The redness was hidden, the purple all gone, and the bright gloss on her lips drew attention away the bump on her nose.  Hux set down the makeup brush with satisfaction.

“You’re really good at this.”  Rey smiled.  “You know all this from your pastel pink phase?”

“I have had many phases,” said Hux.  “Not all are worth discussing.”

“Based on the pictures Ben sent us, and the way he talked about you, I got the impression you’ve always been a total square.  Not so, eh?”

Hux chuckled.  “I’ve always been rather...complex.  Y’know this morning, Phasma said something about me taming Ben.  Believe it or not, it’s kind of the other way around.  Though, he did help me loosen a bit.  Before Ben, I was somehow wild and uptight at the same time.  As I said, complex.”

“Ironing your jeans by day, shaking your ass by night?”

Hux laughed.  “Something like that.”


	16. The First Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A flashback to the first date (part 1)

Hux had insisted he was busy all week and that there just wasn’t time to fit in a date.  But Ben had begged,  _ fit me in whenever you can, even if it’s just for a half hour.  Anything.  I just want to know you. _  Hux had never met someone so eager to spend time with him.  At least, not a handsome, normal-ish someone.  

So he said alright, to meet him at Finalizer, a club in SoHo, at 11 p.m. on Wednesday.  Ben was expecting something closer to coffee during a lunch break, but this would be fine, too.

Ben got there an hour early, knowing he’d need a drink or two to calm his nerves before the date.  Why had he begged for this date?  What if it went terribly?  How pathetic of him.  They’d been texting for a few weeks, and Ben ached to see Hux in person, remembering the silky hair and the flustered grin and the warm green eyes.  He couldn’t remember the last time he felt so strongly about someone he just met.  So yes, he knew the begging was pathetic, and that this weird late night date was probably a terrible idea, but he couldn’t not try.  The desire to get to know Hux was eating away at him.  

Ben sipped a cider at the bar, from which he had a great view of the blue-lit stage.  It was burlesque night at the Finalizer, apparently, and Ben was certainly content to watch pretty people of various genders strut and dance about.  It was all mildly entertaining and only slightly titillating, until his second drink and the fourth act of the night.

“Dear patrons of the Finalizer,” announced the nautical drag queen M.C., “please give a warm welcome back to our next act.  This fine performer danced for us regularly a few years ago, but has been absent too long from our fine stage.  Please welcome, for the first time in over four years, the beautiful, the talented, the captivating—Enda DeNyte Surprise!”

The lights shifted to magenta, bathing a tall, slim figure in rosy warmth.  Kate Bush’s “Hounds of Love” began pumping through the speakers, and the dancer, back to the audience, began to sway, arms twisting and floating ethereally.  Already, Ben could tell this wasn’t going to be a corseted pin-up with tit tassles performance—not that he had anything against those.  The dancer wore knee high leather boots and a black 70s wrap dress, the loose sleeves revealing gorgeous slender wrists, the short skirt showing off legs that went for miles.  The lights made the shoulder length red hair glow pink.  Ben found himself on the edge of his stool, waiting for the dancer to turn around.  

He was not disappointed.  The wrap dress dipped into a low V, the ivory of the skin below, the delicate collarbones, captivating.  And that face.  Cat-eyed, golden eyelashes you could practically see through, full lips painted a deep, sultry purple.  Long, languid fingers dragged across stunning cheekbones and Ben felt his breath quicken.  Enda made a graceful twirl across the stage, long leg extended like a ballerina, untying the wrap dress when the chorus hit.  The crowd roared, several audience members rushing the stage with cash.  Ben couldn’t look away from Enda, dress hanging open to reveal lacy purple boyshorts with matching garters and a cropped, loose, white v-neck camisole.  With a wry smile, Enda lowered the wrap dress slowly, revealing freckled shoulders, playing coy, grabbing a couple bills from some front row admirers, blowing kisses.  The dress dropped to the ground and Enda turned around, showing off surprisingly muscular thighs and a small but perky ass.  

Ben took another drink.

The next move was a crowd favorite.  Basically splits in the air, Enda’s left leg extended toward the ceiling, so graceful, so sexy, slowly unzipping the length of the boot.  Off it came, tossed to the side, then the other, and soon Enda was twirling around in barefeet, light as a feather, bouncing and grinning and shaking and glowing.  The shine of the silk top in the lights was mesmerizing, but Enda’s delicate hands toying with the hem was more so.  So slowly, so slowly it made Ben ache, the shirt was lifted, revealing—Oh.  

Of course.

Why was it not till noticing the absence of breasts that Ben made a very important connection?  The connection that strongly suggested that his date, the panicky, panting suit and tie he’d met 20 days ago, was this ethereal angel on the stage before him?  This beautiful sight that shook long red hair to Kate Bush and wiggled out of lacy panties and snatched dollar bills from fawning admirers?  This was his date?

Enda was on the floor now, clad in only a black g-string, crawling towards the money being waved in his face.  At the “la la la’s” he leapt up, gran jete-ing across the stage, a grin splitting his face.  Ben saw light.  Felt love.  Lust too, of course, because  _ Jesus _ , but more than that.  Tenderness.  Adoration.  Happiness to see Enda so happy, so ecstatic, so free.  Enda picked up the dress with his foot, swinging it up and into his hands, draping it around his long, slender body.  The song came to a close, he gave a modest bow with prayer hands, pushed red locks behind lovely elfin ears, blushed red.  As he shuffled off stage, he tripped over one of his discarded boots and laughed loudly.

So yeah.  Ben was definitely in love.


	17. The First Date, pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pt. 2

At 11 p.m. sharp, Hux, clad in classic Oxfords, black jeans and a knit navy sweater, had joined Ben at the bar.  He nodded to the bartender who prepared his usual—vodka soda with a cherry garnish.  His face was fresh and his hair was pulled back in the same low bun it had been in when they met outside the office, strands of red falling over his right eye.  Not one audience member approached him.  He was completely unrecognizable out of his costume.

“I’m sorry to meet so late, it’s been a really crazy week.”  Hux sipped his drink and smiled at Ben.  “Have you been here long?”

I got here around ten.”

Hux turned red.  “You did?”

“Mmhmm.”

“And have you been sitting here the whole time?”

“Yep.”

“You watched the show?”

“Indeed.”  The corner of Ben’s left twitched into a smile.  “You’re very talented.”

Hux hung his head.  “Oh, fuck.  I knew I should’ve had you meet me down the street.  Well, let me get your drink and you can be on your way, sorry to waste your time—”

“Whoa, what?”  Ben hadn’t been this confused since junior high.  “You think that was a dealbreaker or something?”

“Yeah, I mean, it usually is.  Is...is it not?”

Ben laughed.  “No.  Oh my god, not at all.”

“I don’t usually do it, it’s just to make extra money.  I started doing it several years ago to help pay for grad school, and then stopped when I got a real job, but now I just got laid off from my real job and...this is all temporary, I swear.”

Ben knit his eyebrows.  “Jesus, have people reacted that badly in the past?”  Hux just nodded.  Ben, head still reeling from what he witnessed 15 minutes ago, couldn’t believe it.  “What problem do people have with it?”

Hux shrugged.  “I think, I mean, most guys when they meet me, they see clean-cut, professional, fairly masculine, simple.  And they like that.  And then they see this high femme fairy slut—that’s how one of my exes described it...and it’s just not what they signed up for.”  Taking a long sip, Hux’s face twisted up.  “So I don’t usually tell people.  God, I knew it was risky to meet you here, but I get free drinks and it’s so convenient…”

“Hux.”  Ben put his hand on Hux’s bouncing knee.  “That was the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen.”

Hux blushed.  “Shut up.”

“I mean it.  Like, holy shit.  Ask your bartender friend here, he’ll tell you how stupid I looked, staring, drooling!”

Hux laughed, relieved and delighted, when the bartender nodded his confirmation.  “So you want to continue with the date then?”

“Nah, I’ve just been hounding you for weeks to leave after five minutes.”  Ben signaled for another drink.  “God,  _ you’re _ embarrassed!  I was so pathetic, begging to see you, but...I haven’t been able to stop thinking about since we met.”

Hux bit his straw and swiveled a bit on the stool.  “Really?”

“And now, after seeing that,” Ben gestured emphatically towards the stage.  “I feel like if this date doesn’t go well, I don’t know what the hell I’ll do.”

“Wow.  How honest.”

“I know it’s a lot.  Sorry.  Uh, maybe we should shift the conversation.”

“Alright, to what?”  

“Where’d your stage name come from?”

“Well my first name is Enda—”

“Your name isn’t Hux?!”

“My last name is Hux, and that’s what I go by.  But Enda was too perfect for puns.  End of the night surprise, get it?”

“And what’s the surprise?”

“Uh, my penis, usually.  Lots of people don’t see that coming.”

“I didn’t.”

“You didn’t recognize me?”

“Not till the end.  I mean, you looked like you, but I just assumed you were a woman up there, since most of the other dancers were.”

“So you think.”

“Touche.”

“And do you do anything else besides paramedic-ing?  Stripping at bachelorette parties, maybe?”  Hux laughed.

“I’m in med school, no time.”

“You’re American, yeah?  Why come here for school?”

“To put the furthest distance between myself and my family.”

Hux nodded knowingly.  “Aha.   _ That _ I understand.”

They quickly launched into sharing family horror stories, shared feelings of general inadequacy, hopes and dreams, favorite names for future pets and/or children, embarrassing stories, work drama, education history, likes and dislikes in bed—  

“Hey Hux, man,” the bartender called.  “We’re shutting down.”

“Shit, is it three already?”  Hux climbed off Ben’s lap— Oh yeah, he’d sat on Ben’s lap around 1:30 to demonstrate some embarrassing moment, and Ben had been so warm and soft that he just decided to stay there.  “Well, this has been…pretty great, actually.”

Ben chuckled.  “Why do you sound so surprised?”

“First dates seldom go ‘pretty great,’ at least in my experience.  Have you had better experience?”

“Not recently, no.”

“So, we should do this again some time, yeah?”

“Yeah, absolutely, but…”  Ben looked like he wanted to say something else, but smiled instead.  “Yeah, yeah.”

Hux knew there was something else.  “What?”

“I just…well, I sorta hoped this wouldn’t be the end of the night.”

Hux raised an eyebrow.  “Are you inviting me back to your place?”  

Ben started at his shoes.  “I guess I am, yeah.”

So Hux went back to Ben's place.  And stayed there for 72 hours straight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter returns to "present"


	18. Baggage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The straw that broke the camel's back.

“Ben, Jess’s parents are coming down from Jersey for the party so Hux needs to stay in the poolhouse.”  Leia informed him as he helped her dry the dishes.

“Poolhouse?”  Ben spat.  “You mean the garden shed?”

“Oh, it’s a little nicer than that.”

“Mom, what the fuck.  Why don’t they stay in the shed?!”

“They’re very respectable people, Ben.”

Ben dropped a plate with loud crash.  “And Hux isn’t?”

“Ben.”

“Mom.”

“Your father cleaned it out.  No cobwebs or anything, spick and span.  We can put in an air mattress in and some twinkle lights!  Won’t that be nice?”

"He has a bad back."

"Oh, please."

“Why can’t he stay with me?”

“Because.”

“Because why?  Jess stays in Rey’s room!  Poe stays in Finn’s room!”

“We only just met him, Ben.  We don’t know if we can trust him.”

“Oh my god!  You and your stupid fucking circle of trust!  I’ve known him for almost five years and lived with him for four!  Don’t you trust  _ me _ ?  Don’t you trust  _ my judgment?” _

Leia threw down her dish rag.  “To be honest, Ben, no, I  _ don’t _ trust your judgment.”

“Why the fuck not?!”

“You’ve made nothing but bad decisions since graduating high school.  Leaving Phasma, hitchhiking to New York, starting college late, making straight C’s when you could’ve been making A’s, following some weird old scarred man to London, quitting med school, falling in love with a terrorist’s son!  And those are just the highlights!”

“Jesus!  And you wonder why I never come home!  Nothing but critiques and jabs from you.  Fucking hell.”  Ben stormed up the stairs to Rey’s room, Leia yelling after him.

Ben swung open the door to see Hux seated on Rey’s bed, braiding her hair and laughing.

“And then, oh my god, Rey, you should’ve seen it, Ben picked up this big pile of—”

“Hux.”

Hux looked up, the smile disappearing from his face when he saw the red around Ben’s eyes.  “What’s wrong?”

“Let’s go.  We’re staying at the Holiday Inn tonight.”

“What happened?”

“I’ll explain in the car.  But I gotta get outta this house, man.  Can we go?”

“Uh, yeah, yeah.”  Hux rose slowly, whispered something to Rey and kissed her forehead.  Then he followed Ben to his room, where he was packing furiously.

“What’s a matter, darlin’?”  It was in these hushed, affectionate moments that Hux’s soft deep Irishness came through, and Ben felt a shiver up his spine.  How good he was, Hux, how kind and loving and tender.  And all Ben’s parents could see was a militant’s son, another one of Ben’s bad decisions.  Well fuck them.  

“I’m literally a son of a bitch is what.”

Hux chuckled.  “Jesus, she's no Mary Poppins but you shouldn’t call her a bitch.”

Ben huffed.  “Let’s just go.  Do you have anything downstairs?”

“Just my swimsuit, drying in the bathroom.”

“And you planning on keeping that?”

“Not really, no.”

“Alright then.  Let’s go.”  Ben held out a bag to Hux.  “Take that, will you?”

Down the stairs they went, Ben taking them two at a time, Hux still trying to figure out what was happening.  He’d finally bonded with Ben’s sister, got an Organa-Solo on his side, and now they were leaving?  

In the foyer, Leia knelt, inspecting the contents of an open suitcase.  It was overflowing with crotchless panties, assless chaps, whips, a ball-gag, some terrifying large dildos, and other miscellaneous sex paraphernalia. 

“The airline delivered your suitcase, Hux.”  Leia’s voice was cold as ice.  Ben’s eyes were stretched wide.  Hux tried to stutter out a denial, tried to explain that the airline made a mistake, that the suitcase wasn’t his, but of course Leia wouldn’t hear it.  To top it all off, Han, Finn, Jess, and Poe were coming in for a snack break from their basketball game just in time to see the glorious smut-case on the floor.

Yeah, the Holiday Inn was starting to sound like a good idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 19 will feature real smut! soft smut but still smut! stay tuned!


	19. Good Times at the Holiday Inn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some stuff you can't do under the Organa-Solo roof. The Holiday Inn is a bit more liberal.
> 
> i.e., here's some (rather soft) smut. NSFW.

The first thing Hux did when they got to the hotel was light a cigarette.  Leia thought smoking was a disgusting sign of weakness, and it had taken all of Hux’s self-control not to climb up on the Organa-Solo roof and light up.  God bless this room at the Holiday Inn with its private smoking balcony!

“Do you want to talk about what happened with your mom?”  Hux asked Ben as they leaned on the rail, looking at the sun setting over the terribly boring interstate below.  The light was nice though—  not exactly a scenic view, but Hux thought Ben looked lovely with the low sunlight bringing out the light amber in his eyes.  At the same time, Ben was admiring the orange glow of Hux’s hair.  

“Not right now.”

Hux took a long drag on his cigarette, exhaling slowly, savoring the flavor.  “What do you want to do?”

A mischievous smile appeared on Ben’s face.  “Can’t you guess?”

Hux laughed.  “Alright, but I need a shower first.  I smell like discount chlorine.”

“Me too.  Want to save the planet?  There’s a drought, you know.”

Hux rolled his eyes.  “On the other side of the continent.”

“Every drop counts.”

“Go start the water.  I’ll be in soon.”

 

 

The water helped to wash away the stress of the past couple of days.  Ben and Hux both sighed with relief at the wet heat.  Placing his hands on Hux’s hips, Ben took a step back and drank him in.  “I don’t know when the last time I’ve gone this long without seeing you naked was.  I mean, it’s been years.”

Hux laughed.  “Two and a half days is ‘so long,’ huh?”

“An eternity.”

Hux pressed a wet kiss to Ben’s lips, slotting their lips together softly and swiping his tongue across them.  Ben pulled Hux against him, the skin of their stomachs connecting with a slight slapping sound.  Long fingers tangled in damp hair as the steam rose.  After a moment, Hux pulled away, grabbing the soap and cleaning himself while Ben watched, biting at his lip.  He rinsed under the water and kissed Ben once more before handing him the bar of soap.  

“Get cleaned up.  Every inch.”  Hux glanced down and grinned.  “Keep that up, yeah?  I’ll be on the bed.”

Slowly, Hux turned and stepped out of the shower, long legs graceful and lithe, bending over purposefully (a skill left over from his days performing) to grab a towel, giving Ben a show.  

Ben couldn’t wash up fast enough.

  
  
  


“Christ I’ve missed this,” Ben, seated on the edge of the bed, groaned as Hux rode him.  Hux leaned into Ben’s neck, planting soft kisses there, followed by a little nibble that made Ben gasp.

“You act like we’ve been apart for years,” Hux said with a breathy laugh, tightening the grip his legs had around Ben’s torso.  He rolled his hips, arching his back, eyes fluttering shut every time Ben hit that sweet spot.  

“Don’t pretend like you didn’t miss this.”  Ben sighed before tonguing circles around Hux’s left nipple.

“Again, darlin’, it’s only been three day—ah, ahh.”

Ben stared up in adoration at Hux’s face, flushed pink, highlighting the constellation of freckles across his nose.  “You love bouncing on my cock,” he smirked.

Hux threw his head back and tangled his fingers in Ben’s thick hair.  “Obviously.”  He wrenched Ben’s mouth up toward his, kissing deeply, sucking the breath from Ben’s lungs into his own.  He quickened the pace at which he rocked his hips, Ben angling himself to exactly where he knew Hux wanted it.  

“You close?”  Hux asked.  “I wanna come with you.”

Ben nodded eagerly.  “Yeah.  Ready when you are.”

Hux inhaled sharply and raised himself up, till he was nearly empty, then lowered himself onto Ben again slowly.  He repeated the motion again, biting back a smile at Ben’s small whimpers.  One more time, he raised and seated himself, but this time he came down hard, Ben working with him to get the angle just right.  Together they came, fingers digging into the soft flesh of each others’ backs, Ben’s low moan in harmony with Hux’s breathy gasp.  They clung to each other, Ben burying his head against Hux’s neck.  They stayed like that for a few moments, motionless aside from their deep, panting breaths.  Humming, Hux drew circles on Ben’s back with his finger.  Ben sighed sleepily, gazing up at Hux, mesmerized by how the light hit his golden eyelashes.  When he became overwhelmed with adoration, he pressed his head to Hux’s chest.

“I love you so much, Hux,” Ben said, voice muffled against Hux’s skin.

Hux smoothed back the damp hair from Ben’s forehead.  “I love you, too, Ben.  More than you know.”

 

 

When Hux finally climbed off Ben, he reached for the hand towel he’d placed at the end of the bed and cleaned them both up, wiping Ben’s stomach clean of his own cum and his own thighs clean of Ben’s.  They lay next to each other, then, facing inward, blinking at each other sleepily while touching their fingers together mindlessly.  Ben reached for the comforter after a few minutes, pulling it over himself and Hux, tucking it around their bodies and cuddling closer to him.  As they began to drift, Ben had a thought.

“We’ve got this random suitcase full of supplies, Hux.”

“Mm.”  Hux’s eyes were adamant about staying closed.

“The whips and gags are a bit much, but those crotchless panties are sort of...intriguing.”

“Shhh.”  Lazily, Hux put a finger to Ben’s lips.  “Sleep now, plan kinky sex later.”

Ben smiled and placed a kiss on Hux’s nose.  “Okay, baby.  Okay.”


	20. NPP

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Do not read while hungry.

After their post-coital nap, Ben and Hux found themselves incredibly hungry.  Hux searched the room for a room service menu, and Ben waited a good five minutes (curious to see all the places Hux might check—under the bed and in the shower were his favorites) before explaining to Hux that Holiday Inns did not operate at that level of hospitality.

So they ordered Pizza Hut.

They hadn’t bothered to dress, making up for lost mutual nudity time, perhaps, and laughed, startled, when there was a knock at the door.  Ben scrambled up, pulling the bed sheet around him and rushing to the door, nearly tripping over it.  Hux’s cackle rang out high, and he reached for a pillow to cover his lap.

The pizza man said little to the hysterical, undressed, and hungry men in the room, just the total after tax and a meek “have a good night.”  Pizza box in hand, Ben leaped onto the bed, letting the sheet fall to the floor.  He scooted up against Hux and opened the box with a flourish.  They each picked up a slice from their side (Meat Lover’s for Ben, chicken and spinach for Hux) and clinked the points together as if they were wine glasses.

“To love,” said Ben.

“To express delivery.”  said Hux.

Their simultaneous first bites were met with a unison “mmmm.”  The gluten-free world of the Organa-Solo household had been a sad one.  Ben flipped on the TV to  _ Treehouse Masters _ , a guilty pleasure of his and Hux’s.  

“If we ever move out of the city, we gotta build one of those,” said Ben, mouth full.  

“Indeed.”  Hux appraised the box of pizza and Ben’s enthralled face, his strong body, his adorable giant ears sticking out from under his soft hair.  “This is one of my favorite things, you know.”

“What is?” asked Ben.

“Our naked pizza parties.  Our NPPs.”

Ben flopped his head onto Hux’s shoulder and grabbed another slice of pizza.  “Me, too.  Pizza and Naked You are my two favorite meals.”

Hux snorted.  “Oh Ben Solo, you sure know how to sweet-talk a gal.”

“One day, babe, we’re gonna have one of those kickass treehouses.  And it’ll be like a super romantic sex pad.”

“Only if I can have a heart-shaped jacuzzi.”

“In a tree?”

“I’m sure the treehouse master man can install one.”

“Do you ever want to move out of London?”  Ben asked, tone suddenly shifting.  He looked up at Hux with curious, anxious eyes.  “To the suburbs, or somewhere else, maybe?”

Hux thought.  “I don’t know.  I’ve been in London for so long...it’s hard to see myself anywhere else, you know?”

Ben nodded.  “I just thought, maybe, like when we have kids...or something, we’d want more space, maybe.”

“Yeah, well, we’re supposed to be married in order to adopt, and your parents are never going to give us their blessing, so we might just have to raise squirrels or goldfish.”  Hux’s laugh was bitter.

“Fuck their blessing.  They’ve never approved of anything I’ve done, why should this be any different?”

“I just can’t understand why they hate me so much.  I mean, besides breaking your grandma’s urn and fucking up Rey’s face…”

“It’s not you.  You could be exactly like Poe or Jess or anyone else they adore, but they still wouldn’t like you, because  _ I _ chose you, and apparently I have terrible judgment.”

“That’s what you were fighting with your mom about.”

“Yeah.”  Ben shook his head.  “They’re just horrible, my parents.  I mean, even your ultra-Catholic homophobic parents treated me with respect when I met them.   _ My _ parents just took a shit all over you.  God.  I wanna stick around for Rey’s thing, you know, but I’d really rather not talk to Han and Leia again.”

“Ever?”

“Maybe.  For a while, at least.  Every time I do, they remind me what a fuck-up I am.”

Hux was realizing that this was way bigger than him.  The problem wasn’t him, wasn’t his being the son of a militant Irish nationalist (though that probably didn’t help), wasn’t that he was supposedly the reason Ben stayed in London.  The problem was them, Han and Leia, being completely blind to the wonderfulness that was Ben.

“You’re not a fuck-up, darlin’,” whispered Hux, stroking Ben’s hair.  “You’re fucking amazing.”

Ben said nothing, but pressed a kiss to Hux’s newly-shaven jaw.

“Now, Ben, help me finish this pizza before this episode is over.  We’ll need our energy for what’s up next.”

Ben sat up straight, eyes alight.  “Will you wear the panties?  I saw these purple lacy ones, they remind me of the ones you wore during your show on our first date.  But, like, missing the whole middle area.”

Hux rolled his eyes and bit back a smile.  “If you bring me the suitcase and beg me prettily enough, I just might.”

Ben practically flew off the bed.


	21. Muskrat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Party time.

Ben’s (and now Hux’s) soft spot for Rey had been his weakness.  She called him and begged him to come to the party.  She promised that she, Finn, Jess, and Poe would run interference, keeping Ben and Hux out of harm’s (aka Leia and Han’s) way.  

“Plus, Uncle Luke’s coming!  When’s the last time you saw him?”

Ben looked to Hux, torn.  Of course he wanted to be there for his little sister, and to see the family members that didn’t make him feel like a piece of shit.  But he didn’t want to subject Hux to any more drama, and he was sick of being torn down at every turn. 

Hux placed a hand on Ben’s knee.  “We should go.”

Ben looked to the phone and sighed.  “Ok, Rey, we’ll come, but one jab from Leia and we’re gone, I don’t care if the cake hasn’t been cut yet.”

Rey squealed on the other end and Ben ended the call.  “I need to practice my meditation,” Ben said.  “Care to join me?”

Hux, not a big believer in mystical mindfulness, shook his head.  “I’ll read on the balcony.  When should we start getting ready?”

“About an hour.”

“Ok.”  Hux kissed Ben’s left cheek and squeezed his hand.  “Try to relax.  Focus on Rey.  We’re going for Rey, and we can pretend no one else is even there.”

“Ok.  I’ll try.”

  
  


The backyard was completely full—pretty tough to pretend only Rey was there.  Kids Ben used to babysit now did keg stands on the patio, while his smattering of aunts and uncles (both blood-related and fictive-kin) milled about, looking for more hor d'ourves.  

“Who are all these people?”  asked Hux.

“Let’s see,” Ben began, “that there is Uncle Lando, the short lady over there is Aunt Maz, the guy with the two dogs is my Uncle Luke, there’s...oh wow, Kenobi’s still alive?”

“Who?”

“That ancient dude in the wheelchair.  Uncle Ben Kenobi.  He’s who I’m named after.  Jesus, I thought he died already.  He’s gotta be like 105 years old.”

“Thank god you’re here!”  Rey flung her arms around Ben’s neck, then Hux’s, who gave her a kiss on the cheek in return.  “I know this is hell for you, it means a lot to me.”

Before Ben or Hux could say anything, Rey had skipped away to greet some other guests, and Ben had the sinking feeling that the interference and protection Rey had promised would not be of the highest quality.

“Oh, how nice of you boys to come,” said Leia from behind.  Well, fuck.  “Hux, you look nice.  Ben, your shoes are...interesting.”

Han grunted.  “Muskrat, Leia.”

Leia rolled her eyes and cleared her throat.  “Look at that fine altar Phasma built,” she gestured across the yard to a wooden platform decorated with ornate carvings of grape vines.  “That Phasma sure is good with her hands.”

“Muskrat!”  Han coughed.

Luckily Poe and Finn swooped in just then, gluten-free beers in hand.  “Han, Leia,” enthused Poe, “Jess’s parents want to hear all about the Falcon.  Come over with me, yeah?”  Poe lead them away, a firm hand on each back, glancing over his shoulder to wink at Ben and Hux.  Finn hung around, sipping his beer.

“Finn, what’s the deal with ‘muskrat’?” asked Ben.

“Code word.  Rey gave us all a big talking to about being nicer to you.  She said that anytime any of us noticed someone saying something really dumb and judgy to either of you, to say ‘muskrat.’   _ I _ suggested spraying the offender with water, like you would a cat, but Rey pointed out that there’s a drought.”

“Told you,” Ben mumbled to Hux.

“We’ve all got bets on how many times Han will shout ‘muskrat’ at Mom tonight.  Poe’s so optimistic, y’know, he bet only 10 times.”  Finn shook his head fondly.  “Sweet idiot of mine.  Rey thought 30, Jess said 45.”

“And you?” asked Hux.

“87.”

“How specific.”

“Oh, by the way, Ben, Uncle Hermit’s been asking about you all night.  Maybe if you hang around him, Mom’ll leave you alone.”

Ben mouthed "Luke" at the very confused Hux.  “She’s still mad at him over Christmas ‘07?”

Finn nodded gravely.

“What happened at Christmas ‘07?”  asked Hux.

Head hung low, Finn sighed.  “You don’t wanna know, man.  You don’t wanna know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay tuned to find out what really went down on Christmas '07


	22. Christmas '07

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What went down.

“Ben.  I have to know what happened during Christmas of 2007,”  Hux waited until Ben had had a couple of beers to bring up the subject, sensing it was a hush-hush topic for the Organa-Solos.

“According to my mom, Luke ruined her life.”

Hux and Ben sat on the backyard sectional, curled into one another, gazing into the bonfire.  Most of the older attendees had left or gone to bed, leaving the under-35 crowd (or really, the under-25 crowd plus Ben, Hux, and Poe) run of the yard.  Rey, Jess, and their friends were making s’mores on the other side of the fire, and Poe and Finn had just sped off for a ride on Poe’s new motorcycle.  Hux and Ben sat mostly undisturbed, relieved of the scrutinizing glare of Han and Leia.  ‘Muskrat’ had been called 18 times that night—not too bad, really.

Hux took a swig of the beer he and Ben were sharing.  “Luke ruined her entire life on one Christmas day?”

“Oh no, he’d been ruining it since they were 19, she says.  But it all came to a head on Christmas ‘07.  My mother, you see, was raised by the lovely Organas, who adopted her as a baby.  She didn’t know that they weren’t here biological parents until Luke showed up.”

“They didn’t grow up together?”

“Nope.  My biological grandma died during childbirth and my biological grandfather was off...doing grandpa things.”

“Care to elaborate on that?”

“Nope.  Don’t know much, really.  But he got in contact with Luke when he was a teenager, sent him a letter all, ‘Luke, I am your father!’ and Luke was pretty excited because his foster parents hadn’t been real attentive and now he was on his own.  So, he started talking to him, and found out that he had a sister that Anakin—that’s my bio grandpa—had been trying to find.  So they combined their efforts to find her, and they did, and she was pissed as hell because she thought her whole life had been a lie.  Then I guess Anakin got caught up in some shady shit and tried to rope Luke and Leia into it, which they weren’t having.  Leia has like totally denied any relationship to Anakin, but Luke took his last name.  Leia accepted Luke as her brother but sort of kept him at arm’s length.  Invited him to holidays and stuff, though.  Which brings us to Christmas ‘07.

“It started with Luke showing up Leia.  He got me and Finn and Rey better gifts than she did.  He played games with us and was The Fun Uncle, y’know, a huge contrast to our fun-killing mom.  Han bought Leia this little yellow dog called Threepio, and Threepio got all attached to Luke and his dog, Artoo.  So not only did her kids seem to like Luke a whole lot more than her, her puppy did, too.  And Leia  _ hates _ when people are better than her at something.  She’s the most competitive person I’ve ever met.  Besides you."

"Hey."

“So she was all,  _ fine, Luke, take the damn dog, take my kids too, why don’tcha? _  The last part was sarcastic but he took it seriously, invited us all to stay with him for the summer and train in The Force.”

“That meditative tai chi thing you do?”

“It’s not tai chi, I’ve told you a million times!”  Ben snatched the beer angrily and Hux chuckled.  After a sip, Ben cooled down enough to continue the story.  “When we were all,  _ oh, Mom, can we can we?? _  she pretty much lost it.  Started screaming and throwing shit.  And Luke, supreme drama queen that he is, burned down the guest house.”

“He what?!”

“Burned down the guest house.  Used to be in that corner, right there.  He says it was an accident, he didn’t stomp out a cigarette all the way, but him yelling  _ I know you don’t want me here anyway, Leia!  Here’s your excuse!  Guest house out of order!  _ seemed kind of like a confession.”

“Jesus.”

“Yeah.  So.  They don’t talk much.  Or at all, really.  Han really likes Luke and Luke loves us kids, so he’s invited around for Thanksgiving and these kinds of events, but Leia and Luke don’t talk.  Ever.  It’s  _ Han, will you ask Luke _ this and  _ Rey, please tell your mother _ that.”

“It’s been nine years.”

Ben shrugged.  “My family are the best grudge-holders in the galaxy.”

Hux felt a wave of terror shudder through his body.  Could he survive this family?  Could Ben hold nine-year grudges, too?

“I gotta piss.”  Hux slurred, and hauled ass to the bathroom.


	23. Chewie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hux's phone call gets him in trouble.

 

While Ben and Hux were inebriated, Rey got them to promise to attend breakfast at the Organa-Solos' the next morning.  They were welcomed with pained smiles from Han and Leia, and they were beginning to suspect that maybe this wasn’t the best idea.  That suspicion was confirmed when Leia passed Hux the syrup and said, “Hux, did you flush the downstairs toilet last night?”

Hux felt a knot in his stomach.  Did he?  “Uh, no. Maybe it was Chewie?” Hux coughed out a chuckle—Han had trained the giant dog to use the toilet, defying all laws of physics and nature.

Leia wasn’t having it.  “Chewie can’t flush a toilet, idiot.  He lacks the strength and the opposable thumbs.”

“Mom! Muskrat!” shouted Rey.

That awful gurgling, throat-clearing noise Leia was so well-known for pierced the room.  “Well,  _ someone _ flushed that toilet, despite the big sign that says  _ Do Not Flush. _  The pipes are all out of whack.”

“I’ll take a look at them, Leia,” Poe offered after sipping his juice.  “You know there’s nothing I can’t fix.”

“I just wish people would be more considerate and aware when in someone else’s home.”  The glare Leia shot Hux could’ve burned a hole through him.

“Mom, there were like 50 people here last night, it could’ve been anybody,” Ben snarled.  Leia was about to respond when a cell phone rang.

“Shit, I mean, shoot, sorry,”  Hux fumbled to silence his phone, but stopped when he saw the caller ID.  “I, uh, I have to take this.  Please excuse me.”

Hux shuffled to the den to take his call, while Leia muttered something about poor table manners.  Four people shouted “muskrat” at once.

 

Han was heading downstairs to grab a model plane he’d been working on when he found himself eavesdropping on Hux’s phone conversation.

“I know, sweetheart, I miss you too,” Hux was saying.  “I’ll be home Saturday night, and we can spend all day Sunday together, okay?  We can do anything you want.  Mhmm.  Yeah, that sounds great.  Whatever you want.  Okay.  I love you.  See you soon, love.”  

If Han wasn’t wary of Hux before, he sure was now.

 

After his phone call, Hux decided to sneak out back for a smoke.  The stress was getting to be too much.  He went to the far corner of the yard, where the guest house once stood, and took slow, shaky drags.  Sighing, he scrolled through flight listings, thinking maybe he ought to fly back to London tomorrow instead of five days from now.  The screen door opened and slammed shut, making Hux jump and stomp out his cigarette.  Looking around the yard, though, he didn’t see anyone, and scolded himself for being so paranoid he was hearing things.  After a couple deep breaths, he straightened his clothes, sprayed his mouth with peppermint, and went back inside.

He settled in next to Ben, who squeezed his hand under the table before refilling his coffee.  That’s when Han burst in, model airplane in hand, eyes ablaze.

“I want that bastard out of my house!”  Han pointed a shaking finger at Hux.  Everyone stared in awe, even Leia looked shocked at the outburst.

“Uh, muskrat?”  Finn tried, but it fell on deaf ears.

“This son of a bitch is cheating on Ben!”  Han shouted.  “I heard him on the phone,  _ I love you _ this  _ I miss you  _ that.  Jesus, have a little respect!  If you’re gonna take calls from your side-piece don’t do it in my house!”

Hux tried to protest.  “I wasn’t—”

“Out!  Now!”

Terrified, Hux stood up shakily and made his way to the door, aware of the hot stares on his back.  They wouldn’t listen to an explanation.  They’d written him off already, and this sealed the deal.  There was nothing he could do but leave.

Ben stood up and was about to follow him out when Jess walked in, distraught.  “I can’t find Chewie!”  she cried.  “He’s gone!”

Well, fuck. 


	24. Kaboom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shit goes real wrong.

Hux sat on the front step, listening to the yelling inside.

“I can’t believe Chewie’s gone! It’s all that lying sonuvabitch’s fault!”  Han was shouting.

“Dad, chill,” Rey tried to reason, “he’s gotten out before, he always comes back.”

“So we’re just supposed to let him wander the street without food, water or toilet?!”

“Dad!”  It was Ben shouting this time.  “Shut up!”

“Ben, I know you’re crushed given the revelation that your lover has been cheating on you, and I’m sorry I dropped that bomb with such little tact.  But I’m sympathetic to your situation—can you be sympathetic to mine?!”

“Besides,” said Leia, “you’re much better off without that asshole!”

“MUSKRAT!” screamed Rey and Finn.

A crash, bang, and door slam later, and Ben was next to Hux out front.

“I’m so sorry, babe.  I knew coming back was a bad idea.”

“Why didn’t you tell them?”

Hux’s stare bore into Ben.  His lip trembled and he bit it to keep it still.

Ben spoke carefully.  “What do you mean?”

“About Julia.  They have no idea, do they?”

Ben hung his head and shook it slowly.

Hux tried to ignore the stinging in his eyes.  “Why not?”

“I didn’t think—”

“What?  You didn’t think it was important?!”  

“It’s not that, it’s just—”

“Jesus, I mean, they’ve gotta see pictures of us all on your Facebook and stuff, right?”  Ben was quiet.  “Right, Ben?”

“I might, uh,” Ben mumbled, “might have the privacy settings set to hide those pictures from my family.”

Hux jumped to his feet, his voice raising to a ringing tenor.  “What the  _ fuck,  _ Ben!  So not only did you not tell them, you’ve been actively hiding her from them?”

“I was afraid of how they’d react.”

“Fucking christ, Ben!  You’re 30 goddamn years old!  You’re so scared of your family you can’t tell them—”

“You don’t understand.”

“No!  No, I don’t understand.  I don’t understand how you can say, ‘fuck what they think,’ yet keep the truth from them!  Apparently you told your mom that I’m younger than I am, because you were worried about what she would think, right?  And now come to find out...Jesus, we’ve been together for five years!  And you've been...Julia loves you!  I thought you loved her too!”

“I do, I love Julia so much, but it’s not about that.”

“Bullshit.  Fucking bullshit.  If you have to hide my daughter from your family, I can’t...Jesus, Ben.  I’m going back to the hotel.”

Hux stormed off to the rental car but froze at the door.

“You can’t drive American.”  Ben spat bitterly.

“Then I’ll call a goddamn Uber.”  Hux took out his phone and summoned a ride.  He waited at the edge of the driveway, facing away from Ben.  When the little Ford Fiesta pulled up, he hesitated before getting in.  “You know, Ben, maybe your mother isn’t wrong about your whole poor-judgement issue.”  In he went, slamming the door behind him, for which the driver chastised him.  

Hux needed a drink.


	25. Conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hux doesn't know what to do.

Hux felt guilty.  And angry.  And so, so disappointed.  He had come to think of them as a family.  He thought Julia was important to Ben, that he loved her almost as if she were his own.  But no.  Apparently, Ben just thought of Julia as his boyfriend’s illegitimate child, a secret to be kept.  

Hux felt a gnawing in his gut.  Was Julia aware?  Did she sense that Ben might hide her?  That he might not love her as unconditionally as she and Hux had both thought?

Fuck the roaming charges.  He wouldn’t bring it up directly, of course, and maybe not at all.  But he had to talk to her.  Jesus, if he had ever let her feel less than he’d...he’d…

“Dad?  What’s up?”

Hux smiled at her voice and sat down on the hotel bed.  “I just wanted to check in, see how you’re doing.  Are you at your dance camp today?”

“Yeah, it’s lunch and rec time right now, but I’ve got ballet form in a half hour.”

“You like ballet, right, Jules?  You’re not just doing it because your mother and I used to dance and you feel like you have to?”

“No, Dad.  I like it.  A lot.”

“Good.  Ok.  Good.  Are you making friends?”

“I guess.  There’s this one girl, Ellie, who hates me, I think.  But if I steer clear of her it’s okay.”

“You’re getting to that age, sweetheart, I hate to say, where you might face a lot of jealousy and cattiness from other girls.  But they’re just—”

“Just jealous, I know.  Mum already gave me the speech.”

“It’s true though.  You’re brilliant and beautiful and kind and people who aren’t will try to tear you down for it.  And you can’t let them.”

So I should fight them?  Give ‘em the ol’ 1-2?”  Hux could hear the wry smile in her voice.

“Just don’t knock out any teeth.  Keep bleeding to a minimum.  And no weapons, not even a plastic fork!  Huxes don’t fight dirty.”

“Oh please, Dad, like I don’t know about your schoolyard shiv days.”

Hux laughed.  He thought maybe he should censor what stories he shares with her.  12 is a very impressionable age.  “Well, then, it’s up to you to bring honor to the Hux name.”

He knew Julia was rolling her eyes.  “Alright, Dad.  How’s America?  How’s Ben’s family?”

“Pretty...not great, honestly.  But that’s alright.  Life’s complicated when you grow up, Jules.  Avoid it if you can.”

“Avoid growing up?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Alright.  I’ll try.  I can live on your couch till I’m 30, then?”

“It’s all yours.”

“Great.  I have to go, Dad, my counselor is yelling about something.”

“Oh, okay, love.  Call me when you have some time.  Have a good rest of your day!  Keep your toes pointed!”

“Yes, Dad.”

“I love you, Jules.”

“You, too.  Muah.”

Hux imitated the kiss sound Julia gave him and set down the phone.  A deep sigh flowed out of his body.  Exhaustion.  Emotional exhaustion.  Of course he loved Ben, loved him so much, never loved anyone that way, that intensely, before.  But Julia was the most important person in his life.  Julia had to come first.  And if Ben’s fear and feelings might compromise her happiness or diminish her self-worth...well, that would be a dealbreaker for Hux.  

He needed a shower.  Showers helped him think.  Sometimes.

 

When he toweled off, not feeling better at all, he saw a notification for eight missed calls and 16 texts.

Ben, of course.


	26. Messages

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben tries to apologize

The texts started with full, coherent sentences, but by message 9 they had deteriorated into one-word pleas.

 

9:24 am—Hux, I’m so sorry.  I know I fucked up.  Please call me so we can talk?

9:26 am—You have every right to be pissed.  God, I don’t know what I was thinking.  Call me.

9:31 am—There’s no excuse.  I know that.  I won’t try to make excuses.  I just want to apologize.  And promise to be better.  I’ll tell them today if you want.  Or we can tell them together.  Call me, please?  

9:33 am—Enda.  Please call me.  I love you.  And I love Julia.  

9:35 am—I was so stupid, I am so stupid.  YOU are my family.  You and Julia.  I’m so so sorry.

9:41 am—Can you please just call me?  My hands are all shaky texting is hard.

9:43 am—that was emotionally manipulative wasn’t it?  Sorry.  

9:50 am—Hux please.  I know you’re reading these.

9:52 am—Hux.

9:52 am—Babe.

9:55 am—Huxxxxxxxx.

9:56 am—Endaaaaa.

9:58 am—Please.

10:01 am—Seriously.

10:02 am—Answer me.

10:02 am—Pleeeease.

 

The voicemails were pretty much the same.  Variations on  _ I’m sorry, I’m the worst, _ and  _ talk to me please.   _ Until the last one.  The last one was different.

_ Ben: Hux.  Don’t hang up.  Just listen, please.  _

The sound was fuzzy, and the noises in the background told Hux that Ben must’ve had speakerphone on.  __

_ Ben: Everyone!  Sit down and shut up for a second?  I have an announcement to make. _

_ Leia: Ben, now isn’t the time. _

_ Ben: Mom, it’s important.  Everyone just listen.  Hux isn’t cheating on me.  He wasn’t talking to his ‘sidepiece’ or whatever, he was talking to Julia.  His daughter. _

_ (various murmurs and gasps) _

_ Ben: MY step-daughter, in all ways but the legal one.  She’s twelve, crazy smart, looks just like her dad.  She’s a fantastic dancer and she loves alien movies and she’s so insightful and believes in fairies and right now I’m teaching her ceramics and she’s learning so fast.  She’s amazing, and I love her so much, and I’ve hidden her from you all because I’m a giant coward and I was way too concerned what you all would think.  I was worried that you’d use her as another reason why I shouldn’t be with Hux.  And that I would be weak enough that you’d convince me. _

_ But I’m not concerned with what you guys think anymore.  Hux and Julia are my family.  Hux, Julia, and Hux’s dumb cat who never shits in the litter box.  They’re my family.  And I love them.  And it was so wrong of me to keep this all from you.  Not because you’re entitled to know the details of my life—you’re not.  But because Julia is important to me and I should show her off proudly instead of being an immature piece of shit. _

_ So there.  I will not be taking questions at this time.  I’m going back to the Holiday Inn now.   _

 

Hux was wiping at his eyes, playing the voicemail for the fourth time, when there was a knock at the hotel room door.

“Please let me in, Hux.”

Hux didn’t move.

“I have a key card, you know.”

But Ben didn’t try to enter.  Hux waited, wondering if Ben would force his way in.  No.  Ben waited patiently at the door for the three minutes it took Hux to collect himself.  Taking a deep breath, he wrapped his fingers around the brass handle and pushed down sharply.


	27. Breadsticks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leaving for London soon, Hux ties up some loose ends.
> 
> (this chapter is slightly longer to make up for not posting yesterday, hope u enjoy!)

“I’m still mad at you.”  Hux turned his back and sat down on the bed as Ben entered the room.  “I still think that hiding her was extremely shitty.”

Ben nodded and hung his head.  “I know.  And I agree.”

“But I forgive you.”

Ben crashed into Hux at that, hugging him so tight Hux struggled to breathe.  “Oh, thank you.  I was so worried I’d ruined everything.  I was so worried I’d lose you.”

“What did your family say?”  Hux asked when he was released.  They both sat down on the bed, Ben resting his head on Hux’s shoulder.  When Hux didn’t tilt his head to touch Ben’s, Ben noticed, but he didn’t say anything.  Of course things wouldn’t be back to normal immediately.

“Variations on ‘what’ and ‘oh my god.’  I left pretty quick.  Poe made a crack about you being obviously too gay to procreate naturally.”

Hux snorted.  “A fair point.”

“Rey asked to see pictures!”  Ben’s voice was high and hopeful.  “That was a really nice sign, that she cared.  But like I said, I don’t care what they think.  It doesn’t matter.  It should’ve never mattered.”

Looking at his socks, Hux sighed.  He wasn’t sure what to say or do.  After a moment, he said, “Let’s go find a burger place.  I’m hungry.”

 

Hux was finishing his burger and Ben was starting on his second order of fries when Ben’s phone buzzed.  It was Rey, texting to let him know that Hux’s suitcase had been delivered to the Organa-Solo house.  Her text was followed by another that said, “better get here before Mom gets her trusty lock-buster” and three scream emojis.

 

Yes, this time it  _ was _ Hux’s suitcase, and, thankfully, Leia didn’t open before Hux and Ben got there.  No, she wouldn’t find crotchless panties and sex toys, but she would find the engagement ring, which would be much, much worse.

Hux said nothing upon entering the Organa-Solo house, and no one said anything to him, either, though he knew Han and Leia were watching from above the stairs.  He looked around, inspected it for any marks or damages, and then began dragging the suitcase out to the rental car when a sharp voice stopped him.

“Hux.”  It was Leia, and she was descending the steps.  He wished Ben were here instead of outside talking to Finn and Poe.  He should’ve made Ben go instead.  “I’d like a word with you.”

Hux stiffened and took a deep breath.  “With all due respect, Ms. Organa, I don’t answer to you.”  Leia looked astonished, her head snapping back fast enough to cause whiplash.  “I wanted you to like me, for Ben’s sake, but at this point, given all that has gone on over the past few days, I really don’t care if you hate me.  I don’t.  You don’t treat your own children with the proper respect, so why should I expect you to respect me?  It’s not worth the energy.  I’ll be out of your hair, and you never have to speak to me again if that’s what you wish.  You can pretend I don’t exist.  But I  _ do. _  And Ben and I are going to be together for a very, very long time.  You don’t have to like it, and you don’t have to approve.  Your approval means nothing to me anymore.  Goodbye, Ms. Organa.  Take care.”

He extended a hand for a firm, cordial shake, but Leia just stood and stared, dumbfounded.  With an almost-imperceptible grin, Hux exited the foyer, satisfied.  He rolled the suitcase along the asphalt driveway, hoisted it into the hatchback, and went around the side of the house to find Ben.

“You got it?”  asked Ben, concerned.  “No issues?”

“No issues.”  said Hux.  “Poe, Finn, it was nice to meet you.”  He extended his hand, which Finn shook with a smile.  Poe, however, used it as a pull to bring Hux into a bro-hug, patting his back a little too hard.

“Good to meet you, buddy.  I know Leia was tough on ya.  You’re a brave one.”

“You’re both heading back to London?” asked Finn.

“Tomorrow morning, yeah.”

“Rey will want to say goodbye, she’s out with Jess.”

Ben nodded.  “Rey’s having dinner with us tonight.  Our apology for dragging attention away from the engagement.”

“Well it sure isn’t your fault, guys.  That’s all Mom and Dad.”  Finn said.  Hux and Ben thanked him, thanked them both, then finished their goodbyes and went on their way.  

 

While Ben was in the shower before dinner, Hux dragged his suitcase to the floor on the far side of the bed, where Ben couldn’t see if he walked out of the bathroom, and opened it.  All his clothes were there, as were his razors, extra contacts, his favorite shampoo, sanitary travel toothbrush, and his prized eucalyptus moisturizer.  Most importantly, though, was the ring.

It was exactly where he had left it, in a box wrapped in a sock.  The sock was then stuffed into the pocket of a pair of jeans that were rolled tightly and buried under his sweaters.  Hux took out the box and pocketed it in the pants he was wearing.  Maybe tonight could be the night.

He heard the water shut off so he quickly flopped on the bed and grabbed the novel on the nightstand, trying to seem casual.  Out came Ben, wet and glistening, a too small towel around his waist.  Hux gave a half-hearted wolf-whistle.

“Rey wants to go to Olive Garden.  Please don’t make fun of her, ok?”  said Ben, shaking his hair like a dog.

“Why do you think I’d make fun of her?”

“You’re so posh.”

“Your mother’s best friends with the President.”

“Oh, certainly not.  Mom doesn't really 'do' friends.”

“Are you sure you want me to come?  You and Rey never get time to bond.  I don’t mind hanging out here while you two go out.”

“No, she wants to get to know you!  She really does.  And she wants to know about our life, about Julia.  She wants to know about our family.”

Hux nodded thoughtfully.  “Alright.  Okay.”

“Good.”

“The bottomless breadsticks thing...that’s not true, is it?”

“You bet your tiny ass it is.”

“Won’t be tiny for much longer,” mumbled Hux before setting down his book and standing up.  He grabbed at the softness of his belly under his shirt.  “You’re gonna have to get used to this soft bod, Ben, cuz it’s only gonna get softer.”

Ben took hold of Hux’s waist and pulled him in.  The fresh hotel-soap scent on Ben’s skin prompted Hux to inhale deeply.  Ben gave a gentle poke to Hux’s small but soft stomach.  “I like soft.”

“I’m not sexy like I was when we met.”

“Hux.  Please.”

“It’s true.  I was all toned and tight and my calves were  _ amazing _ , remember?”

“I remember, yes.”

“Now I have a dadbod.”

Ben chuckled.  “If that’s so, dadbods are way sexier than I ever thought possible.”

 

Gorging himself on breadsticks, Hux was thrilled to answer Rey’s questions about Julia, but even more thrilled to see Ben’s own enthusiastic responses.  Ben lit up when telling Rey about the time he was teaching Julia self-defense and she accidentally broke his nose, and couldn’t stop laughing when he tried to explain that amazing pun she came up with when she was eight.  It was reassuring to Hux, to hear the love in Ben’s voice as he spoke about her.  He knew it was genuine.

“She sounds awesome,” Rey said, mouthful of garlicky goodness.  “I can’t wait to meet her.  If you’re planning on coming back for the wedding, you should bring her.”

“Did you decide on a date yet?”  

“October 3rd,” she smiled.

Ben rolled his eyes.  “Did you pick that just so you can say ‘it’s October 3rd’ for the rest of your life?”

Hux looked confused.  “Mean Girls reference,” Ben explained.

Rey’s laugh and refusal to answer the question indicated that yes, that was exactly why.  She focused her attention on her phone, where she was swiping through the recently unhidden photos of Hux, Ben, and Julia on Ben’s Facebook page.  She came across one picture in particular that caused her face to split into a grin.  “Aww, you guys, this is so lovely.”

It was one of Hux’s favorites.  It was from about three and a half years ago, Julia’s ninth birthday party.  The sun was beginning to set, and they were looking towards something out of frame that Julia was pointing at, up and to the left.  Hux remembered that it was a particularly large flock of birds, flying in an almost star-like formation.  The picture has been a candid, snapped by Rachel, Julia’s mother.  Julia was riding piggy-back, head resting on Ben’s shoulder, tired.  The arm she wasn’t pointing with was dropped down lazily by her side, holding Hux’s hand with a languid grip.  The way the setting sun shone on the gorgeous red of Hux and Julia’s hair was captivating, and the light brought out the soft amber in Ben’s eyes.  You could see fatigue in each of their faces, it had clearly been a long day, but there was also joy—small, satisfied smiles on each face, glimmers of love in each pair of eyes.  Only five or so minutes after the picture was taken, Julia had slumped to sleep, and Ben walked with her on his back to the car carefully, gently setting her in the back seat, buckling her up with care.  Rachel and Hux watched, and Hux remembered Rachel tip-toeing up to his ear and saying, “I like him.  You should keep him.”  

Hux thumbed at the ring in his pocket.

“That’s one of my favorites,” said Ben, pulling his own phone out of his pocket.  “In fact, I think I’ll make it my profile picture.”

Three minutes later, Ben’s phone buzzed with a comment notification.

_ Julia Hux: OMG how embarrassing :P #mydumbdadz _

Hux, doing the math and calculating that it was past midnight in London, commented back via Ben’s account.

_ Ben O. Solo:  We love you, now go to sleep -- your father.   P.S. I will have Ben upload embarrassing baby photos of you if you don’t go to bed.#sleeptight! _

_ Julia Hux: Dad, get your own fb, u weirdo.  Love you <3  _

Hux smiled and started on another breadstick.  The drama of the past few days didn’t seem to matter so much anymore.


	28. The Interrogation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hux gets into trouble. Again.
> 
> (this scene is suuuuper similar to a scene in the movie Meet the Parents so don't sue me-- most of the dialogue is original tho)

“I’m sorry, sir, your bag is too big.  Let me check that for you.”  The flight attendant, tacky 1999 chopsticks in her hair, told Hux with pursed lips.

“No, it’ll fit, it’s fine.”  Hux insisted, pushing harder to jam this suitcase into the overhead compartment.

“Sir, it’s really just too big.  It’s not going to fit in that tiny space.”

From the window seat, where he was already getting set to sleep, Ben mumbled, “That’s what he said!”

“Listen,” Hux located the woman’s name tag, “Evelyn.  I’m not going to check my bag because the last time I did, the airline lost it, and then they returned the wrong damn suitcase which made my partner’s parents think I was a sexual deviant, and then you didn’t get the correct suitcase to me till yesterday!  So!  I will not be checking my bag, thank you.”

“Sir, I can assure you, your bag will be safely stowed bel—”

“How?  How can you assure me?  Are you going to carry it down to the belly of the plane right now?  You, yourself?  Might I go with you?  No, no, I didn’t think so.  I’m sorry to be so rude, but I flat-out refuse to check my bag.”

“Sir, if you could please give me the bag and sit down—”

“I’ll hold it on my goddamn lap if I need to, but I’m Not. Checking. This. Bag.”

“Well, that’s a safety hazard.  If you don’t surrender the bag, sir, I’m going to have to—”

Hux let out a bitter laugh.  “‘Surrender the bag.’  Like it’s a goddamn weapon.  You want to me to surrender my very deadly Versace suitcase?  You want to dismantle this designer bomb?”

“Hux, no,” Ben started to say, but it was too late.  

An air marshall tackled Hux to the ground.     

  
  


“You idiot.  You can’t say ‘bomb’ on an airplane.”  The interrogator, a mustachioed man that called himself Frank Joseph DeLeRosso (and insisted that Hux referred to him by that very full name), told him.  Hux was handcuffed to a bolted down table in a dark room deep within the bowels of the airport.  

“Is there any way you can loosen these?”  Hux put on his poshest London accent.  “My wrists are beginning to chafe.”

“You’re a terrorist and you want me to help your wrists breathe?”

“I’m not a terrorist.  I’m an Irishman with British citizenship.”

“That doesn’t mean shit.”

“Frank Joseph DeLeRosso, listen, I just didn’t want to check my bag, okay?”

“And then you threatened the stewardess!”

“Ok, firstly, I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to call them stewardesses anymore.  She’s a flight attendant.  And I didn’t threaten her, christ!”

Frank Joseph DeLeRosso stroked his mustache.  “That’s not what Air Marshall Bob said.”

“What a nice name.  I’d like a lawyer, please.”

“Terrorists don’t get lawyers.”

“Well that doesn’t seem fair at all.”

Just then, the heavy, sound-proof door burst open.  In the shadows, Hux could see the outline of a short, stout figure, with two odd bumps on the sides of their head.

Oh no.

“Agent DeLeRosso, I’ve got it from here,” the familiar, gravelly voice said.  Frank Joseph DeLeRosso turned around and examined the figure.

“Agent Organa!  You’re coming out of retirement for this schmuck?”

“I suppose I am.”  Leia stepped into the dim light and shot Hux an incomprehensible look.  “Go grab some coffee and do your puzzles.”

Frank Joseph DeLeRosso seemed to shrink by two feet, ducking his head and making his way towards the door.  “Y-yes, Agent Organa.  Th-thank you.”

He pulled the door closed behind him and Leia began walking around the table, stalking Hux like prey.  Hux rolled his eyes.  “I’m not scared of you like ol’ Franky, Leia.”

Leia sat down in the chair across from Hux and folded her hands thoughtfully.  “Aren’t you?  I could send you to Guantanamo Bay, you know.”

“No, you couldn’t.”

“Yeah, you’re right, I probably couldn’t.  Give me your wrists.”

Hux flared his nostrils.  “I can’t, these restraints are prohibiting the movement.  But you knew that.  You just wanted me to say it.”

The left side of Leia’s mouth twitched up into something almost like a smile.  She nodded and pulled a tiny key from her pocket.  She unlocked Hux’s cuffs and then took his wrists in her hands.

“I’m going to interrogate you now, Hux.  And if you lie to me, I will know.”

“You don’t have your torture machine with you.”

Leia scoffed.  “I don’t need that thing.  I’m a human lie detector.”  She settled her rough thumbs over his veins, finding his pulse.  Hux tensed.  She, of course, noticed.  “First question: was there a bomb or any other sort of weapon in your suitcase?”

“Obviously not.”

“A simple yes or no will suffice.”

“No.”

"Why then were you so concerned with keeping your suitcase on-board?"

"Because they fucking lost it last time, and it has something valuable in it."

"Whips and chains and robot dildos?"

"What?! Jesus, no.  How much do you think a dildo costs these days?!"

“Nevermind.  Next question: Do you harbor any anti-American sentiments?”

“Other than hating Wal-Mart and thinking you drink your tea wrong, no.”

“Do you have any lingering feelings for your ex?”

“What?  What are you talking about?”

“Your daughter’s mother.  I imagine you must be in close contact, sharing custody.  Are there any residual feelings between you two?”

“What does this have to do with me being an alleged criminal?”

“Just answer the question.”

Hux sighed, not terribly excited to launch into the long story.  “Rachel and I were never together, just good friends.  We took dance classes together throughout University. When we were 21 and wild we went out to a club and got high on ecstasy.  I was mildly curious at the time, I’d never been with a woman.  I didn’t have much of a desire to, but the drugs and the music and the dancing kind of took over...I don’t remember much about the night itself, just waking up the next morning and wondering what the hell I’d gotten into.  I guess we were sound of mind enough to use a condom, but too high to notice it break.  And thus, Julia was conceived.”

“So she was a mistake.”

Hux wanted to spit at her.  “Absolutely not.  A surprise, yes.  A wonderful, amazing surprise.  But my daughter is  _ not _ a mistake.”

Leia was silent, searching Hux’s eyes.  He was angry.  The gold-green gaze screamed  _ how dare you _ across the table.  After what felt like years, Leia spoke again.

“Do you love Ben?”

“Of course I do.”

“Yes or no will suffice.”

“Yes.”

Leia took note of his pulse before continuing.  “Do you want to spend the rest of your life with Ben?”

“Yes.”

“Even though you hate his family.”

“Yes.  Though, to clarify, I quite like Finn and Rey.”

“And you love him even though he’s impulsive and dramatic and makes poor decisions?”

“What?  I...yes?  He doesn’t make poor decisions.  Most of the time.  And his impulsiveness, and his, shall we say,  _ flair _ for drama...I don’t love him in spite of those things.  I love him because of those things, partially.  I love everything about him.”

“Do you think he’s a coward?”

Hux took a deep breath.  “No.  We all have moments of cowardice and weakness.  Being cowardly now and then doesn’t make one a coward.  No.  I think, most of the time, that Ben is incredibly brave.  Quitting med school because it wasn’t what he wanted, even though he knew you would disapprove, that was pretty brave.”

“I thought he quit because he was failing.”

“Failing?  He was one of the top students in his program.  The directors begged him not to leave.  But he knew it wasn’t the right fit for him.  He made the right call.”

Leia struggled to absorb this new information.  She shook her head of it, resolving to deal with it later.  She tightened her grip on Hux’s wrist and looked up.  “Final question: do you want to marry my son?”

“Yes.”


	29. Home Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's no place like home.

Ben and Hux made the 2:20 flight to London, and Hux was spared from the no-fly list.  The bag was not checked, and Leia bought them first class seats, meaning that not only was there ample room for early-boarding Hux’s bag, but that Hux and Ben got very drunk, for free, in the first hour of the flight, sleeping soundly through the rest of it.

Upon arriving at their apartment, jet-lagged and sleepy-eyed, they dropped their luggage at the door, shuffled toward the bedroom, and took no notice of Mitaka, who was cross-legged on the couch, eating popcorn and watching  _ Glee. _

“Um, welcome back?”  Mitaka called.  Hux swiveled on his heel and stalked back to the living room.  Ben was already in bed.  

“Mitaka.  Hi.  Thanks for watching Millie.  You can leave now.”

“Oh, uh, really?  How was the trip?”

“Can’t talk about it, too exhausted; physically, emotionally, spiritually.  Where’s my cat?”

“She’s taken to sleeping in the loft.”

Hux rubbed his eyes and looked to the skinny spiral staircase leading to the loft, where a plush canopied bed, an Ikea desk, a bean bag chair, and a bookcase were expertly arranged.  Julia’s room for when she stayed with them on weekends.  Millicent must’ve missed her.  Hux smiled, but knew he couldn’t climb those stairs tonight.  He’d wait till morning to greet his cat.

“Are you watching Glee?”  Hux asked incredulously. 

“Yes.  Do you watch it?”

“Um, I watched it with my daughter until she turned 10 and decided she was too old for it.  How old are you, again?”

“Glee is intended for audiences of  _ all _ ages, sir.”

Hux sighed.  “Please clean up the popcorn you’ve undoubtedly spilled into the crevices of my couch, and then head home.  Here’s a hundred, call a cab.”  Hux held out a bill which Mitaka snatched excitedly.

“Uh, ok, sir!  Goodnight!” 

Hux heard Mitaka jump up and begin cleaning up the popcorn, but his thoughts were already on bed.  He made his way towards the bedroom, tripping over cat toys, taking off his belt as he walked through the door, then unbuttoning and kicking off his pants, sitting down on the edge of the bed and pulling off his shirt, and finally rolling in next to an already-sleeping Ben.  He pressed a kiss to Ben’s bare shoulder blade.  Ben stirred a bit, let out an “mmm,” and rolled over to face Hux.

“Goodnight, babe.  Thanks for surviving hell with me.”  Ben touched his lips to Hux’s, eyelids fluttering.

“Anytime, darlin.  Goodnight.”

Ben rolled back over and shifted towards Hux, pressing his back into the curve of Hux’s chest.  Hux draped an arm in the dip of Ben’s waist and smiled at the warmth radiating from him.  A couple sniffs of Ben’s hair and a lazy game of footsie put him to sleep pretty quickly.

  
  


Hux awoke to a bushy orange tail swiping under his nose.  “Millicent!” he squealed, sitting up and wrapping his arms around the cat.  Millicent squawked but quickly settled against Hux, purring contentedly.  “I’ve missed you, you lovely dumb cat.  America is terrible, I’ll never leave you for it again.”  

A low, off-key singing voice came from down the hall, growing louder and louder.  “The sun is up, the sky is blue, it’s beautiful, and so are you,” Ben entered the doorway with a tray of food, gave a cheesy smile, and then sat at the edge of the bed, carefully placing the tray on the bed while he finished his song.  “Deeeear Enda, eat your bacon and eggs.”

Millie leapt off the bed at the clattering of silverware, allowing Hux to better position himself for consuming breakfast.  First, though, he rocked forward on his knees to kiss Ben good morning.  “You sweet boy, what’s the occasion?”

Ben shrugged and picked up his cup of coffee.  Hux raked his eyes slowly over Ben—the scattering of moles on his face and neck, disappearing under the too-thin fabric of his v-neck shirt, which clung to his muscular chest.  Hux reached for the orange juice.  He sure was thirsty.

“The least I can do after the awful few days I put you through,” said Ben.

“It wasn’t  _ that _ bad,” lied Hux before biting into a strip of bacon.

“Yeah, well...I’ve just been thinkin’ about how, like, ride or die you are.”

Hux laughed so hard he snorted.  “Ride or die?  You fucking dork, what does that even mean?”

“I just mean that it’s really amazing, how you, like, saw how horrible my family is, and saw how shitty and cowardly I can be, but instead of being like ‘I’m done, I’m too good for this,’ which you  _ are _ , you stuck by me and even stood up for me and I just…” Ben’s voice cracked, and Hux noticed redness forming around his eyes.  “I just can’t believe how lucky I am to have you.  For you to love me, despite all my shit—”

_ Because _ of all your shit,” Hux corrected.

Ben smiled and looked up, eyes wet and pleading.  “Anyway, I thought now would be a good time to,”  Ben lifted up an overturned teacup on the tray, “ask you to marry me?”

A beautiful rose gold ring stared up at Hux.  He looked from it to Ben, back and forth, about ten times before saying anything.

“Jesus, Ben…I’ll, uh,”  Hux stood and made his way to the door.  “I’ll be right back!”  As he scurried down the hallway, realizing halfway through that he might be giving Ben a heart attack, he yelled, "by the way, yes, but like, hang on a second!”

Hux slid to his knees (and winced in pain and regret) in front of his suitcase, breaking it open and rummaging through it for the ring as quickly as possible.  Once he had it, he practically ran back to the bedroom, sliding onto his knees in front of the bed.

“Ow, shit, I can’t keep doing that.”  Hux panted.  Composing himself, he held out the platinum and black titanium ring.  “I was going to do this in America in front of your family, but then Rey was engaged and your parents hated me so...I mean I think I already know the answer because you just asked me but will you marry me?”

Ben, laughing, grabbed the rose gold ring from the tray and slid down to the floor, positioning himself on one knee in front of Hux.  They froze in front of each other, in their identical positions, laughing (and crying a little, but trying to hide it).  Hux reached out first, taking Ben’s huge hand and sliding the ring onto his finger.  Ben did the same to Hux’s.  They pressed their newly ringed hands together, staring at their fingers, then up into each other’s eyes.  When Hux spoke his voice was broken and shaky, barely more than a whisper.  “I love you so much.”

“I love  _ you _ .”

Ben took Hux’s face in his hands, and Hux shivered pleasantly at the new sensation of cold metal on his cheek.  Their lips met hungrily, faces red and wet and overjoyed.  Ben thumbed a tear away on Hux’s cheek and softly pulled him forward.  Hux took this cue and climbed into Ben’s lap, straddling his firm torso.  Hux’s fingers found their way into Ben’s thick hair, and Ben moved his large hands from Hux’s face to the small of his back, pushing slightly and closing any space between their bodies.  They moved together, rolling and grabbing and clinging and sighing.  Hux’s fingers found the hem of Ben’s shirt and he freed his lips for a moment to pull the shirt over Ben’s head.

“I think this is the happiest I’ve ever been,” gasped Ben, repositioning his hands on Hux’s ass and squeezing.  “How did I end up with you?”

Hux kissed Ben slowly, sucking on his bottom lip until Ben shuddered.  “You made a lot of good decisions,” Hux whispered.  He rose up onto his knees and thumbed the hem of his boxers, pushing them down slowly, wiggling his hips as more of his freckled skin came into view.  He pulled them off and threw them across the room with a sly smile.

Ben, struggling to regulate his breathing, bit his lip. “Fuck yeah, I did.”


	30. Epilogue - Four Months Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end.

They might not have flown back for Rey’s wedding were it not for Han and Leia buying them three first class tickets and a poolside suite at the Hilton.

Ben figured Rey had probably begged them to do anything to make amends.  Ben would’ve come anyway, by himself, just for the day of, but he’d rather they beg for his presence and shell out tons of money to get him there.  They deserved a little dent in their bank account, given the trouble they’d put Ben and Hux through.

“Is it true that everyone’s fat in America?”  Julia asked a little too loudly, prompting a quick _ shhh  _ from Hux and a laugh from Ben.

“You can’t say things like that out loud, Jules.”

“What?  I’m just asking.  That’s what Molly Bryer said.  Her grandparents live in Utah, which is a hilarious name for a state, don’t you think?”

“Why is it hilarious?”

“It sounds like UTI!  Get that state some cranberry juice!”

Ben was losing it, laughing silently to himself, while Hux shook his head and wondered how long it would be till she fell asleep.  He lowered his voice and said, “Hun, we’re surrounded by fancy people.  Let’s talk like we’re fancy, okay?”

“Jesus, Dad, I’m not six.  I won’t say UTI again till we get to America, alright?  God.”

Hux breathed a sigh of relief.  “Thank you for being reasonable.  Now why don’t you find a movie to watch?”

He gestured to the seatback screens, which Julia began scrolling through with only mild interest.  After a moment she stopped, finding something interesting.  “Ooh, Dad!  Can I watch  _ Reservoir Dogs?” _

“We already discussed this, Julia.  No Tarantino until you’re 14.  It’s too violent.”

“I’m a woman now, Dad, I see buckets of blood on a monthly basis.  I can handle a little Tarantino chocolate syrup.”

Hux groaned and looked to Ben for help, but Ben just shrugged and said, “she’s got a point.”

"Thank you, Ben!" she chirped.

"No problem, Jules," Ben replied.

Flagging down the attendant for another drink, Hux relented.  “Fine, but you’re not starting with  _ Reservoir Dogs _ .  Find  _ Inglourious Basterds _ on there.  That’s historical, at least.”

Ben snorted.  “You know that’s not historically accurate, right?  Brad Pitt didn’t really go around bashing in Nazi brains.”

“Shh!”  hissed Julia.  “Spoilers, Ben!”

 

 

Julia had conked out after the cafe scene, and Hux was relieved that she hadn’t seen enough to potentially give her nightmares.  Ben dropped his head against Hux’s shoulder and brushed their fingers together, toying with the rings on their hands.

“When do we make the announcement?”  Hux mumbled into Ben’s thick hair.

“Reception.  Towards the end of the night, when everyone’s too juiced up to make a big deal about it.”

Hux nodded.  “I can’t believe how insistent you were that we do it before going to Rey’s wedding.”

“I’m the oldest,” Ben said.  “I should be the first one married.”

Hux smiled, recalling their trip to the courthouse last week.  It had been short and sweet, with Julia and Rachel serving as their witnesses and an old man with a bluish beard performing the ceremony.  The custodians were not happy with Julia and her mother, who were skipping and throwing rice all over the fourth floor hallway, but Ben and Hux were thrilled (and Hux slipped the custodian a 50 pound tip to apologize).  They discussed throwing a reception in the coming spring, potentially inviting Ben’s family, depending on how this weekend went.  

Hux’s daydreams about party themes were interrupted by the ding of the seatbelt light and the beginning of their descent into D.C.

Hux didn’t notice that he said, “Oh shit, here we go,” out loud.

  
  


It was a lovely hotel suite, big jacuzzi in the bathroom, a queen bed in one bedroom and a king in the other.  There was a little kitchenette and a couch facing a top-of-the-line TV, plus a little poolside deck area with lounge chairs and fake palm trees.

Julia paid no mind to jet-lag (nor the exhaustion of her father and step-father), changing into her swimsuit with lightening speed and throwing herself into the deep end of the pool.  She was totally content to entertain herself, diving down deep and then floating on her back, staring up at the intricate details in the ceiling.  Hux and Ben smiled tiredly.

“She’s so lovely.  She looks like the little mermaid in there,” said Ben, untying his shoes.

“Christ, don’t say that.  Last thing I want is for her to make stupid sacrifices for an idiot boy.”  Hux said with the fear only a parent can have for their child’s inevitable mistakes.

"You mean like you did for me?" Ben winked.

"Exactly."

“Oh, don’t be such a pessimist.  She’s smart.  Plus, who knows if she even likes boys?  God, Hux, you’re so heteronormative!”

Hux laughed.  “Wow, not sure I’ve ever been accused of that before.  But you have a point, I suppose most mermaids are lesbians anyway, aren’t they?”

“I don’t have current data on mermaid sexual orientations, unfortunately.  Been awhile since they did a comprehensive census of mythical sea creatures.”

Hux rolled his eyes and ruffled Ben’s hair fondly.  He approached the edge of the pool and crouched down, waiting for Julia to lift her head out of the water before he said, “just 15 more minutes, Jules.  We all need to get some sleep.”

“20 minutes?” she flashed her newly straightened teeth at him with a grin.  She was thisclose to charming him into letting up, but he had to put on his Dad Voice if he wanted to get any rest.

“You know very well that I said 15.  Make the most of it.”

Julia rolled her eyes and swam to the other end of the pool with a splash.  Ben suggested pulling a Caddyshack to get her out, prompting Hux to chuckle and walk down to the vending machine to procure a Snickers bar.

 

 

It was just this side of too cold to have the wedding outdoors, but they went ahead with it anyway, handing out blankets to the attendees to protect them from the mid-October wind.  The altar Phasma built was now stained and lacquered and absolutely gorgeous, and two Han-welded rings sat atop a pillow that was attached to Chewie’s collar.  Chewie sauntered down the aisle, the old dog taking his time to look around and greet friends and relatives.  The music swelled, and from the left entered Rey on Han’s arm; from the right, Jess on Mr. Pava’s.

They looked absolutely gorgeous.  Rey was stunning in a gauzy taupe gown, Jess lovely in a coral shift dress.  Luke officiated, his flair for the dramatic finally useful, while Leia and Mrs. Pava wept in the front row.  Poe, Finn, Phasma, and some mute friend of theirs they called BeBe served as the wedding party, silently swiping at tears while standing dutifully behind the brides.  There was a rustling in their row, and Hux glanced over to see Julia handing a saltwater taffy to a shaky Ben.  Turning his head to the left, Hux noticed a small tear was forming in the corner of Ben’s eye.  He placed a slim hand on Ben’s knee, who quickly covered it with his own, gripping tightly.  It was hard for Hux to discern if these were tears of joy, or sadness and disconnect.  Ben wasn’t really a part of that family unit up front, though he loved them, and though, at times, he longed to be.  But here were Hux and Julia, next to him, a family unit he fit into perfectly.  

Ben wiped the tear away, and another didn’t come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for being such loyal, supportive readers! Stay tuned, a short prequel is in the works...


	31. the prequel is...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here!
> 
> Find out what happened when Ben met the Huxes for the first time:
> 
> http://archiveofourown.org/works/7598146/chapters/17291005

Follow the link above for more soft kylux trash

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I aim to post one short chapter a day, and 2 a day when possible. Stay tuned.
> 
> Comments are super appreciated
> 
> Find me on the tumble: saltyseaz.tumblr.com
> 
> Enjoy this Kylux trash playlist I created: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxk1beKYMAjOZU9_AfYEjve8quXHk-RCd
> 
> And check out this awesome moodboard tumblr user smol-hux made for the fic!  
> http://smol-hux.tumblr.com/post/147622857645/kylux-meet-the-parents-au-for-saltyseaz
> 
> PS My dream is for someone to make art based on anything in this fic. So like, make my dreams come true?? please?
> 
> PPS my dreams have come true thanks to beautiful art from you all! You can see it at saltyseaz.tumblr.com/tagged/meet-the-parents-art
> 
> Also credit to tumblr user nightsofllyn, who I believe to be the originator of Pink Haired Hux


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